People’s Stories of Losing Thousands of Dollars in Cryptocurrency

In this age flooded with self-proclaimed “trading gurus”, it’s crucial not to let anyone sway you. Understand that if it were as easy as they claim, everyone would be rolling in riches. My advice is not to hand over your money to anyone who approaches promising you’ll be your boss; nor should you quit your job under the illusion that passive income will sustain you effortlessly. These are times when, as Bitcoin hits 73K, people say they’re on their way to having life sorted, but it turns out that when it drops to 65K, those same people say their fate is begging on the streets. Nearly seven years of navigating the crypto world have taught me that the wisest course is to hold, adhere to stringent security practices, and disregard the noise from social media personalities.

Our decisions, whether made with good intentions or not, carry consequences in any aspect of life. This reality is even more pronounced in the crypto sphere, where a misstep means there’s no safety net to catch us… It’s not like going to the bank and having someone swoop in to solve our problems. It may sound blunt, but a couple of truths must be grasped: firstly, nobody is destined to make mistakes – by honing our knowledge and keeping a level head, we can confidently navigate the crypto world. Secondly, if we insist on steering the ship, we can’t expect others to shoulder the responsibility for what unfolds next.

Why do I share all this with you? Because I’ve witnessed individuals who left their jobs to dive into Axie Infinity; I’ve seen people who got tangled up in trading and ended up in a real bind; there are also those in my circle who neglected to use two-factor authentication and paid a hefty price… I’m not trying to paint myself as some visionary, especially because I was among those who lost money when a cryptocurrency lending service collapsed – it wasn’t a significant amount, but it still stung. What “saved” me was that, months before the service went belly-up, I made a substantial withdrawal… some money remained, and I thought, “I’ll take it out later, what’s the worst that could happen?” (insert laughter or tears here).

“Learning is a gift. Even when pain is your teacher”.

-Maya Watson.

As you can see, I’m not afraid to be honest, as life is about continuous learning. We often take pride in our vast knowledge of one or more subjects, yet we seldom pause to consider what we still have left to learn. Considering its fast-paced evolution, this point is particularly crucial in the crypto world. If you’re a newcomer, I understand your perspective: catching up isn’t a walk in the park; let me assure you that your first couple of years will likely involve mistakes, but don’t let that discourage you. The key, especially at this stage, is to make minor missteps rather than mistakes that bring tears of blood.

Without any further delay, and for added context, here are some stories of individuals who lost cryptocurrencies and may never be able to overcome the regret.

James Howells, computer engineer

More than a decade ago, on an August afternoon in 2013, Howells was tidying up his office in Newport, a small town in Wales. As he sorted through what to keep and what to discard, James decided that one of his hard drives, containing old files, was a prime candidate for disposal. However, instead of taking out the trash that night, he went to bed… It only took a few minutes before he began to feel regretful, realizing he had never disposed of something as a hard drive.

The next morning, James’s wife rose early and decided to take out the trash. Finally, our main character came to terms with the loss of the hard drive. Two months passed, and Howells stumbled upon a news article about a twenty-nine-year-old who had invested some of his bitcoins to secure the down payment on an apartment in Norway – Remember Kristoffer Koch? -. It was then that he realized how much Bitcoin had surged.

Years ago, James used his laptop to mine BTC during the nights, until the hardware began overheating and the loud noises bothered his wife. Upon reflection, our main character concluded that there was no reason to believe Bitcoin would ever be worth much and saw his mining endeavors as a mere hobby… Consequently, he opted to store his key files on a hard drive and cease the operation.

When Howells came across the news about the Norwegian guy and realized the soaring price of Bitcoin, he hurried to get his hard drive, only to remember it was buried under tons of garbage. He visited the Newport landfills and discussed with a manager who offered some hope of finding the device, but they needed the city’s permission to conduct an inspection. Unfortunately, municipal authorities turned down multiple requests, claiming exorbitant costs of excavation, storage, and waste treatment, with no guarantee of locating the hard drive or its functionality.

Although James Howells has sought assistance from the private sector, he has not yet been able to finalize any deals to recover the hard drive. James lost a staggering 7,500 bitcoins, which, at the time of writing this article, are valued at USD 481,830,000.

Ivan Bianco (Fraternidade Crypto), streamer

Bianco is a Brazilian YouTuber who focuses on uploading content about blockchain-based games. His YouTube channel, named Fraternidade Crypto, has over 30,000 followers, and he remains active on platforms like Instagram, Post.tech, and Discord. Watching his content, one can tell Ivan enjoys what he does, but he had no way of knowing that in August 2023, he would experience a scare he’ll remember for the rest of his life. During a live YouTube stream, our main character decided to open a text file containing his passwords to access the Gala Games platform. The problem was that the file also contained the recovery phrase for his MetaMask wallet.

What happened next was akin to a Mortal Kombat fatality: one of the viewers hacked into the MetaMask wallet and stole $50,000 in MATIC from Polygon… Ivan conducted another livestream, visibly shattered, and pleaded for mercy from the thief.

There’s not much more to add besides stressing the obvious: private keys are sacred, information that should be stored securely… It later came to light that the perpetrator, upon viewing Ivan’s latest livestream, seemingly felt compassion and reached out to return a significant portion of the funds.

Noor (fictitious name): losses due to trading addiction

In 2021, The Guardian published an interesting article featuring a London-based designer who, using the pseudonym Noor, shared her distress after losing thousands of pounds in investments. She recalled the beginning of her crypto journey in 2020, coinciding with the U.S. presidential elections… Amidst the pandemic, with consumer spending at a minimum and Noor bombarded with trading platform ads on social media, she deemed it an opportune moment to invest £10,000 in BTC.

Shortly after, her £10,000 investment soared to £18,700. This triggered a persistent state of anxiety in Noor, leading her to wake up in the middle of the night to check cryptocurrency prices on her phone… Our main character began to fantasize about a future where she would achieve wealth through her investments.

However, as 2021 drew to a close, Noor began to feel that her success was fading. After initial profitable outcomes, she sold her Bitcoin and diversified into other currencies such as Ripple, as well as stocks from various companies. She revealed to the media that she spent hours watching the YouTube channel FX Evolution, hosted by an Australian trader who analyzes market trends. Eventually, many of her investments, especially Ripple, crashed, resulting in the loss of not only her initial £10,000 BTC investment but also the £8,000 in profits she had made, along with an additional £5,000.

Noor admitted that a significant part of the problem stemmed from her lack of understanding… “Although I could fluently use investment jargon, I didn’t grasp the true meanings of the terms”, she explained.

These narratives underscore the significance of education and prudence in the crypto realm. Remember: whether you’re just starting or have a solid foundation, there’s always more to learn. Can losses occur even with caution? Absolutely, but be assured, they won’t compare to what we might regret if we aren’t careful… Please always aim to stay informed and learn from your mistakes. If you happen to make substantial gains in the short term during a bullish period, you can be happy about it, but keep in mind that history doesn’t always repeat itself… Consider the future.

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