[2019-01-13] Sunday Times - How I lost a fortune in the great bitcoin robbery

[gentlemand]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2019-01-13/the-sunday-times-magazine/how-i-lost-a-fortune-in-the-great-bitcoin-robbery-g5n3v0wnr

Since this site has the paywall from hell here's the text.

https://pastebin.com/2R6ai9Rm

Just goes to show incompetence and laziness is an infinite resource no matter where you look.

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[Lucius]

Six years ago things were pretty different, and as we see people hold BTC on exchanges what proved to be a big failure. Was it just about ignorance or laziness, it's hard to say at this moment. 

I see this person is behind MtGoxLegal.com and he's been fighting for years to get some funds back, but problem for him and others is that they will not get BTC, but some fiat compensation. So if he get his £2,000 back, or some amount similar to that, he can invest again in BTC. Time is lost in this case, and a potentially huge profit, but as he say : invest and forget for next 10 years is not a bad option.

[NeuroticFish]

If I had sold my coins during 2017’s peak, it would have made me a millionaire. It stings to think about that. But if I’d cashed out as I intended in 2014, I’d be kicking myself for missing out on those big profits.

I didn't read it all, only fragments here and there.
It's interesting to see that people compare with the ATH although most probably they would have not sold any Bitcoin in that week. It's a good snapshot of how are people lying themselves. Also probably that's why the forum is also full of alarmists.

But at least I like the ending advice. Nice, lax, useful and with quite an emphasis (this time) on security too. Maybe it could become some sort of motto

Here’s my free advice: if you have money to lose, buy some bitcoins and use cold storage wallet software to print your bitcoin key on a piece of paper. Delete it from your computer, then hide the paper in your jewellery box. Forget it for 10 years. Then it will either be worth nothing or it’ll change your life.

[gentlemand]

Six years ago things were pretty different, and as we see people hold BTC on exchanges what proved to be a big failure. Was it just about ignorance or laziness, it's hard to say at this moment. 

I see this person is behind MtGoxLegal.com and he's been fighting for years to get some funds back, but problem for him and others is that they will not get BTC, but some fiat compensation. So if he get his £2,000 back, or some amount similar to that, he can invest again in BTC. Time is lost in this case, and a potentially huge profit, but as he say : invest and forget for next 10 years is not a bad option.

I instantly abandoned the idea of ever going anywhere near gox the moment I read up on it. I didn't know anything about crypto, I was capable of recognising a time bomb.

Looks like this geezer was instrumental in getting people paid back in BTC. You only get fiat if you request it.

[Lucius]

I instantly abandoned the idea of ever going anywhere near gox the moment I read up on it. I didn't know anything about crypto, I was capable of recognising a time bomb.

The first thing I learned is probably most important - full control of private keys is something that guarantees security, every user should become their own bank, so why so many trusted some online exchange at that time. Just because it was easy to open account there, and the possibility of hacking is not taken seriously.

I just check when first version of Electrum is released, and that was back in 2011 which was a surprise to me. Just two years after BTC appeared on the scene there is option for lightweight wallet, and to download whole blockchain also was not a problem. People always choose the easiest way, no matter how much this way is unsafe.