The models you will see
- Fixed-scope fee: an agreed price for a defined piece of work with a defined deliverable. The clearest model, and the one we use.
- Hourly rates: common with larger consultancies and litigation support providers. Workable, but ask for a cap.
- Retainer: a monthly amount for continuing work. Only sensible on long, active cases.
- Contingency or success-based elements: sometimes used alongside a fee. Never a substitute for a written scope.
What drives the price
- The number of networks involved — a case spanning Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tron is three bodies of work.
- Hop count and branching. Low-fee networks allow far more hops, and each branch has to be followed or reasoned away.
- Whether bridges or swap services sit in the path, since matching across them takes considerably more work.
- How complete your own records are. Missing hashes and exports add hours before any tracing starts.
- Whether the deliverable needs to stand up to a solicitor or a court, rather than being an internal summary.
What you should get for the money
- A written scope agreed before any chargeable work begins, stating what will and will not be examined.
- A written report with a narrative, a fund-flow diagram and a full transaction annexe.
- Stated confidence levels — what is established from the record, and what is inference.
- A clear statement of where the trace ended and why.
- Something you can hand to Action Fraud, a bank, an insurer or a solicitor without translation.
Warning signs in a quote
- A fee demanded before any assessment of whether the case is traceable at all.
- A payment described as a release fee, unlocking fee, tax, or anything needed to free funds. Legitimate firms never ask for this.
- A guarantee of recovery, or a percentage promised on money nobody has yet located.
- Payment in cryptocurrency to a personal wallet, or by gift card or transfer to an individual.
- No written scope, no company details, and no address you can verify.
How we handle it
The first review is free. We look at what you have, tell you whether a trace is likely to reach anything useful, and say so plainly when it is not. If it is worth proceeding, you get a fixed written scope and price before any chargeable work starts, and we never hold or move client funds.
If you are looking at your own case rather than reading generally, our cryptocurrency investigation service explains how a case is scoped and worked, the asset tracing hub covers the network-specific work, and our overview of cryptocurrency scam recovery in the UK sets out what is realistic. Asset pages: USDT tracing, Bitcoin tracing and Ethereum tracing. You can also contact the investigations team directly.
Common questions
- Will you tell me if my case is not worth pursuing?
- Yes. A meaningful share of the enquiries we review do not justify paid work, and we say so at the free review stage rather than after taking a fee.
- Is a cheap trace better than nothing?
- Not if the output cannot be used. A short summary with no transaction annexe and no stated methodology rarely helps a bank, a solicitor or a police report.
- Do you charge for the first conversation?
- No. The initial review is free and carries no obligation.
- Should I ever pay an upfront fee to recover cryptocurrency?
- You may legitimately pay for investigation work under a written scope. You should never pay a release fee, unlocking fee, tax or deposit described as necessary to free funds — that pattern is fraud.
- Is a no win, no fee crypto recovery service safe?
- Contingency arrangements exist, but they are only meaningful alongside a written scope and a firm you can verify at Companies House. A contingency promise on its own tells you nothing about whether the work will be done.
- How much does it cost to trace a Bitcoin transaction?
- A single-network trace with a small number of hops is at the lower end of the range; cases spanning several networks, bridges or dozens of branching hops cost considerably more. We quote a fixed price after the free review rather than an open hourly commitment.
- Can I claim the cost back or on insurance?
- Sometimes. Some policies and some legal claims allow investigation costs to be recovered. Ask your insurer or solicitor before you commission the work, and keep the written scope and invoice.
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Wallsec does not hold, handle or return client funds. We provide investigative and reporting services only, and no report can guarantee an outcome.
Have a case you want reviewed?
We scope at intake and tell you honestly whether the onchain data supports a traceable case.