Newcomers are diving into crypto with out studying what it’s, veterans are watching their income soar with out spurring adoption and skeptics are judging crypto with little data, says OG Bitcoiner James Howells.
Howells is known for preventing in court docket to get well a tough drive from a landfill that contained 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC) price $700 million. Whereas he didn’t succeed, he advised Cointelegraph that he didn’t let the loss outline him and shared his ideas and 2026 resolutions for newcomers, veterans and skeptics.
For over 12 years, I attempted every little thing to interact with Newport Metropolis Council:
•Public Proposals
•Percentages
•Mediation
•Authorized motion
•AND a proper £25M+ supply$1 Billion they usually ignored all of it.
No response. No logic. No management.
They need me to surrender, however pic.twitter.com/z9IWrurojD
— James Howells (@howelzy) August 4, 2025
Newcomers should perceive crypto earlier than diving in
Many freshmen launch straight into shopping for crypto on an change, however they need to first be taught what it’s they’re shopping for and the real-world issues it appears to resolve, Howells stated.
“Learn the way blockchains function, why decentralized finance exists, and what downside it solves.”
“Fiat methods focus energy in governments and intermediaries,” he stated, including blockchain provides an alternate for people to “choose out of that with out permission from a 3rd celebration.”
“Understanding why this issues is extra necessary than shopping for any coin,” stated Howells.
Newcomers ought to fastidiously experiment
As soon as the fundamentals are understood, Howells stated newcomers ought to experiment with all types of crypto protocols, providers, and wallets — with out placing actual cash in danger.
“You’ll make errors, and you’ll lose cash. That’s a part of studying,” he stated. “The secret’s to make sure these classes price pennies, not pay cheques.”
“No one cares about shedding $0.10 in the event that they realized one thing precious. Individuals do care once they lose $20, $30, or extra on a nasty app after which blame all the expertise.”
Don’t leverage commerce
Howells’ recommendation for newcomers to experiment with every little thing had one exception: Leverage buying and selling.
“Keep away from it solely,” he stated, warning that leverage platforms profit from inexperienced merchants making errors who “turn out to be liquidity for extra refined gamers.”
Associated: All I wished for Christmas was my $773M BTC again
Those that don’t perceive market construction, liquidation mechanics, and danger administration turn out to be the product, Howells warned.
Veterans, take a look at your crypto pockets backup and restoration setup
Howells advised crypto veterans to routinely take a look at their crypto pockets backup seed phrases to make sure that they’ll nonetheless restore entry to their funds.
“Check them. You do not need the primary time you want a backup to be the second you uncover it’s unreadable, incompatible, outdated, or incomplete,” stated Howells, who added he’d seen numerous wallets made in 2013 to 2015 rendered inaccessible by software program rot and out of date codecs.
“{Hardware} modifications, software program evolves, and greatest follow evolves. In case your whole setup relies on one machine, one seed copy, or one location, it isn’t sturdy.”
Use crypto in every day life, and produce others with you
Howells desires to see extra veterans educate newcomers, focusing much less on technical evaluation and extra on establishing wallets and making transactions in the actual world.
“If in case you have made vital positive aspects, reinvest within the ecosystem,” he added. “Launch a enterprise, construct a service, run infrastructure, or settle for crypto for current items and providers.”
To the established and distinguished gatekeepers who blocked me for over a decade:
You may block the gates.
You may pack the courts.However you can’t block the blockchain.
Crypto already received.
Ceiniog is coming – and your world is collapsing. pic.twitter.com/wKSOtmw37m
— James Howells (@howelzy) August 4, 2025
Howells stated crypto adoption must be “far additional alongside than it’s,” and that veterans share accountability for that.
Cease chasing Wall Road and Washington’s validation
Howells stated Wall Road and politicians embrace crypto solely when it fits their very own pursuits and that “none of them are appearing in your pursuits.”
“Their focus is management, affect, and danger administration on their very own phrases.”
Howells stated the “gravy practice” that we see as we speak might not final ceaselessly and that most of the pro-crypto laws in place as we speak are the “very cages that can entice customers later.”
“They don’t seem to be in your facet,” he stated, warning veterans to not anchor their convictions round institutional and regulatory milestones and as an alternative deal with advancing peer-to-peer crypto adoption.
Skeptics should attempt crypto earlier than forming conclusions
Howells advised skeptics to provide crypto a go earlier than criticizing it based mostly on misinformed headlines.
“Use it genuinely over a significant time frame. Arrange a pockets, make transactions, expertise custody, and perceive what it permits.”
He stated that almost all criticism targets scams and unhealthy actors, which shouldn’t be ignored, however neither ought to the underlying capability to carry and switch worth with out permission.
“Decide the system by what it will probably do, not by how badly some folks use it.”
Watch conduct, not rhetoric
Lastly, Howells famous that a lot of the recycled criticism comes from monetary establishments and nation-states which might be quietly constructing blockchain infrastructure for custody, buying and selling, and settlement behind the scenes.
“That contradiction is price noticing,” Howells concluded.
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