Host of The Exit Handbook, Julian Figueroa, has misplaced 14 BTC during the last eight years, value round $1.6 million at the moment. As if that determine wasn’t unhealthy sufficient, what’s worse is that “90% of individuals shopping for Bitcoin at the moment” are going to make one of many three errors in Bitcoin safety that value Figueroa his treasured BTC.
For those who aren’t paying consideration by now, you ought to be. Figueroa’s expertise highlights a deeper, extra sobering actuality: the street to monetary sovereignty is crowded with pitfalls, and almost each person will repeat no less than one among these hard-learned errors about Bitcoin safety.
Bitcoin Safety Mistake #1: Day Buying and selling Goals, Market Realities
Figueroa’s largest remorse? Making an attempt to outsmart the cycles by actively buying and selling:
“I misplaced 4 BTC simply because I believed I’d purchase low and promote excessive. Seems, it’s almost inconceivable—no person beats the market over time, not professionals, not hedge funds, no person. For those who simply purchase and maintain, you nearly at all times outperform the merchants.”
The psychological pitfalls of FOMO, misreading tops and bottoms, and emotional hearth gross sales catch even professionals within the jaws of volatility. Many lose sight of Bitcoin safety when risking cash on dangerous short-term strikes.
Mistake #2: The Altcoin Entice
Figueroa misplaced one other 2 BTC chasing altcoin hype:
“I purchased cash I believed would outperform Bitcoin. They didn’t.”
Altcoins supply wild upside tales, however, as Figueroa calls it, “altcoin logic in a swimsuit” usually finally ends up as a distraction.
Examine after examine exhibits most altcoins underperform Bitcoin dramatically in the long term; a tough lesson seasoned by countless ‘make it, lose it’ tales amongst crypto’s earliest adopters. Selecting strong Bitcoin safety means resisting distractions from speculative options.
Mistake #3: Self-Custody or Bust
But, his largest loss got here from protecting cash on centralized exchanges. He says:
“8 BTC—almost $1 million—vanished when an trade failed.”
Trusting custodians as an alternative of taking full private management is the commonest error, but even veterans fall sufferer to consolation and comfort. The lesson right here?
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“Crypto exchanges usually are not banks, they’re casinos. Self-custody is the one actual safety.”
You’re Not Alone: Epic Bitcoin Losses from Across the World
Figueroa isn’t the primary (or the largest) Bitcoiner to study these classes the onerous approach:
James Howells by chance threw away a tough drive holding 8,000 BTC, now value greater than $900 million. Stefan Thomas, a programmer, misplaced entry to a pockets with 7,002 BTC (value $777 million) after forgetting his IronKey password. He has solely two guesses left earlier than his fortune is gone endlessly.
In the course of the notorious Mt. Gox trade collapse in 2014, over 850,000 BTC had been misplaced or stolen, leaving numerous customers completely locked out and sparking industry-wide debates on Bitcoin safety.
When QuadrigaCX’s founder died, he took the personal keys to over $200 million with him, leaving 1000’s of customers locked out of their funds. The record goes on and on—reminding traders that Bitcoin safety begins and ends with private accountability.
Figueroa’s story is a dwelling lesson for each newbies and seasoned Bitcoiners alike. So how do you keep away from becoming a member of the haunted ranks of the two million membership?
Don’t attempt to commerce “the underside or the highest.” Lengthy-term holding traditionally outperforms nearly each day-trader; simply ask the 99% who’ve tried.
Ignore the siren tune of altcoins promising outsized positive aspects and stick with the basics. And most significantly, maintain your personal personal keys. Study self-custody and take full duty on your digital property. As a result of in Bitcoin, “not your keys, not your cash” is the chilly, onerous reality. Don’t let your story turn out to be one other cautionary story about Bitcoin safety.