Bitcoin value keeps climbing, make sure your old cold storage is safe.

[DaveF]

As a bit of a continuation of this discussion here about not deleting your old wallet.dat files: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5325660

For those of you with collectables and things like them with funds on them make sure they are safe and if electronic that they still work:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5218987.msg56370760#msg56370760

That nice silver coin that was funded 6 years ago with 1BTC when it was worth $200 that you have sitting in your display cabinet is now worth more then $50000 are you sure you still want it sitting out there in the open?

That papersafe note that you loaded with a 1/4BTC is now worth as much as a car. do you still want it framed and sitting unsecured on your wall?

Much like my experience, when was the last time you plugged in your opendime to check that it works?

Just some Saturday morning thoughts.

-Dave

[The Sceptical Chymist]

That nice silver coin that was funded 6 years ago with 1BTC when it was worth $200 that you have sitting in your display cabinet is now worth more then $50000 are you sure you still want it sitting out there in the open?

Ugh, how I wish I'd had the balls and the foresight to buy one of those back in 2015-16, but I never was a fan of physical bitcoin collectables.  As far as having such a thing hanging on your wall, that's a tricky thing.  You'd kind of have to assume that anyone burglarizing your home would steal something like that even if they didn't know how much bitcoin was worth.  If I had a loaded coin like that, I'd probably keep it in a hidden safe.  I'd hate to fool around with the coin to get the private key and thereby making it an unloaded one, but that's just me.

With bitcoin above $50k, all I keep thinking about is how people were saying that faucets were a waste of time back in 2015 (and every year since then).  Nowadays you look like a financial wizard if you were claiming bitcoin from them when the price was $200 or even less.  It's crazy to think about things like that and the situation you're talking about, DaveF.  You make good points, though.

[bL4nkcode]

Never had a funded collectible since it cost a lot now, but how I wish I had started earlier to collect these coins.

Even though some of them are unfunded, those are still precious stones with value (gold, silver, emerald, etc) so I kept them in a very safe place like how I keep my paper wallet backups.

[DaveF]

That nice silver coin that was funded 6 years ago with 1BTC when it was worth $200 that you have sitting in your display cabinet is now worth more then $50000 are you sure you still want it sitting out there in the open?

..  If I had a loaded coin like that, I'd probably keep it in a hidden safe.  I'd hate to fool around with the coin to get the private key and thereby making it an unloaded one, but that's just me.
...

What is kind of funny, at least from my warped sense of humor, is that now that people are more and more "being your own bank" is that if you did buy or use physical collectables or even want to keep your seed phrase safe outside you home. You are back to storing them in a safety deposit box...at a bank...

Yes, I could bring this stuff back to my place and install a nice fireproof secure safe, but it's still not as secure as a bank vault.

And as one of my friends years ago said when asked why he does not have an ATM card. "If I want a bunch of money for something and the bank is closed, it's probably not a good idea"

-Dave

[Baofeng]

Thanks for the reminder, just really proves that in 10 years, but bitcoin has truly evolved and how valuable it is right now. I also don't have collectible coins, I make sure that all bitcoin related (and others like stocks), like hardware and paper wallets are safe somewhere in my house and my multiple back up outside as accessible as well.

[sheenshane]

That's a good reminder DaveF!

It's proved that Bitcoin investment had potential when a year's come just like the next generation of 10 years.  Even in the year 2018 (IIRC) when Bitcoin price almost dug on the ground about $3k, it might a good chance of accumulating, and now seeing the price folded how many times, that's a great ROI for long-term holders.  Collectible coins made of precious metals will surely have a good value and storing them for the long term is also considering storing a good value in the future.

And yes, I tend to agree with you, our responsibility to take care of our valuable assets safe and don't leave them open or in an unsecured place.

Multi-sig or multiple back-ups for your Bitcoin wallet might good either.

[bassbity]

a reminder that really gives me a memory of the past, and we are like alumni of the cheap price of bitcoin. Ah, I think I will soon frame it with a layer of gold on the walls of the room. to be honest, we were very happy for the difficult times at that time, fighting for bitcoin from year to year. paid off very extraordinary.
Did you know that without realizing it, we are somehow one of the millions of people who have become part of bitcoin at the price of $ 200 at that time.
even though there are still many regrets floating around in our minds, why didn't we spend everything on bitcoin as much. and show the world in 2021.
thank you saturday, thank you bitcoin for a gift so very valuable that we have come this far.


need to celebrate .. @ DaveF let's cheers

[rosebrand]

Most time I really think I wish have been into the crypto space right from its infancy and also hodl enough bitcoin, but so bad at that time I haven't even heard of bitcoin talk more of joining and then earning bitcoin was really much more easy since most faucet and mining sites gives some portion of bitcoin for free. Even when I later joined the crypto space I did worked for a site which paid me in bitcoin and I had a very nice amount which I was even happy selling when the prices was $10k, I had held this amount for  a while  and when bitcoin hit 10k I sold thinking the market might dump soon I never knew it was just the starting of bull run last year, immediately I sold after a month bitcoin started pumping massively and it pains me so much knowing I would have gotten more than I sold had it been I kept my bitcoin.

[Pmalek]

<Snip>

Imagine this situation then:
You are a gamer/movie fan who participates in an online Starcraft competition and you are doing your best to win that 1st-place prize money of $500.
The 2nd place is $250 which seems good enough as well. The point is, back in those days, most people would have done anything not to win those 25 bitcoin consolidation prizes. 

[Fundamentals Of]

I suspect there are still a lot of old loaded coins in the attic or in the basement of the houses of some old collectors and early believers of Bitcoin. Those early adopters of Bitcoin must have also bought some Bitcoin-related collectibles which have real Bitcoins in them. Some of these might have already been kept forgotten somewhere not too safe at Bitcoin's current price rate. Who would have thought brass physical Bitcoins for example with only a single BTC in them would become so precious today?

[best123]

From time to time I check my devices I store some of my keys to my accounts. Even some of old wallets because this bull run can make them come back and continue the project. A friend of mine made some good money from 2018 airdrop which she has written off.

[OcTradism]

What is kind of funny, at least from my warped sense of humor, is that now that people are more and more "being your own bank" is that if you did buy or use physical collectables or even want to keep your seed phrase safe outside you home. You are back to storing them in a safety deposit box...at a bank...

Yes, I could bring this stuff back to my place and install a nice fireproof secure safe, but it's still not as secure as a bank vault.

Complicate all things will not make things better. Sometimes simplicity is the best.

They want to have freedom from governments and central banks, they choose bitcoin. But then they open accounts and sign contracts to store their bitcoin backup in bank vault. Security is on hands of bank owners. Privacy is broken.

"Being your own bank" by completely control your bitcoin, its back up and all storage entities.

[buwaytress]

Thanks for the reminder and I do have collectibles -- only a few and not expensive ones as I couldn't even afford those things at $100 -- by the time I was able to afford them they would be in higher ranges.

One thing I'd add: be careful when checking all these things online (maybe some people bought these things before they fully understood it) -- last thing you want to do is access keys of that 2014 coin that was safely stored offline on a compromised device...

[cheezcarls]

I always make sure that my cold storage is safe, especially the private keys, mnemonic phrases and keystore files. Before the pandemic, I usually travel from time to time. When I save my important details, I store them both on my “sacred” notebook and I keep it somewhere safe at home. And when I travel either on local areas or overseas, I store them on my Protonmail, with a very strong password of course.

[larus]

Hackers are getting more and more agrresive with every year in crypto

[Spaffin]

 We should always take care of the security of our passwords and secret keys, regardless of whether the price of Bitcoin rises or falls. The main thing is to adhere to basic security rules in order to keep all your secret data away from the Internet and from prying eyes.

[khaled0111]

You just reminded me that I have a lot of unencrypted altcoins wallets stored on USBs and old hardrives and not even sure if they still work (I'll have to remember where I put them, first)!
Not sure why I kept delaying this but it's about time to move those coin to a safer place so thank you for the reminder op.

[DaveF]

You just reminded me that I have a lot of unencrypted altcoins wallets stored on USBs and old hardrives and not even sure if they still work!
Not sure why I kept delaying this but it's about time to move those coin to a safer place so thank you for the reminder op.

Probably the same reason I do, it's the value of your time vs the value of the coin.
I have 100k +/- a bit bytecoin sitting in a wallet on a USB stick along with some other cryptonight coins I mined back in the day.
The value back in 2015/16 early 2017 was crap. I didn't sell back in the 2017/18 runup and now it's all worth less then $100.
So, do I spin up 3 wallets, wait for them to sync and then find an exchange to sell them on. Or do I just let them sit?
Do I spend time moving them to someplace more secure, or since they are not worth that much, just let them sit?

The big $ stuff like I made the OP about is easier to answer.

-Dave