How Bitcoin Nearly Bailed Me Out

[Ahli38]

it must be really fun when we need funds and check a forgotten wallet and find bitcoins in it.

and the problem of mnemonic phrases or the like which are screenshots and stored on your phone. it reminds me of my bitter experience. I used to do the same thing. and my phone doesn't have an external memory card. I used to back up my wallet phrase in the form of a screenshot on my cellphone. and my bad luck was that at that time my cellphone really couldn't be turned on because it was submerged in water and it was too long in the water. and was taken to a repairman, it turned out that there was a short circuit and had to be replaced. and more unfortunately the data in it cannot be retrieved or recovered because there are indeed damaged components. and I lost my wallet along with the phrase code. The lesson was really stifling because the price of the cellphone could be bought back, but the contents in the wallet which I think is more that makes me regret it.

from there I learned to save my wallet backup on paper in a special book and keep it in a safe place. because I don't want that bitter incident to happen again.

[fortuner]

it must be really fun when we need funds and check a forgotten wallet and find bitcoins in it.

and the problem of mnemonic phrases or the like which are screenshots and stored on your phone. it reminds me of my bitter experience. I used to do the same thing. and my phone doesn't have an external memory card. I used to back up my wallet phrase in the form of a screenshot on my cellphone. and my bad luck was that at that time my cellphone really couldn't be turned on because it was submerged in water and it was too long in the water. and was taken to a repairman, it turned out that there was a short circuit and had to be replaced. and more unfortunately the data in it cannot be retrieved or recovered because there are indeed damaged components. and I lost my wallet along with the phrase code. The lesson was really stifling because the price of the cellphone could be bought back, but the contents in the wallet which I think is more that makes me regret it.

from there I learned to save my wallet backup on paper in a special book and keep it in a safe place. because I don't want that bitter incident to happen again.

What you experienced was very similar to mine because I used to store all the data on my laptop, so one day I sold the laptop, but I forgot that before reinstalling the laptop to secure my data first so that everything is just a memory.
But all of this is a lesson for me going forward to be even more careful in maintaining my wallet account.  But now I have tried to save all my data in gmail because that way we will never lose our data again as long as we still remember the gmail password.

[Kakmakr]

I had a bit different scenario than yours.. but it is linked to Bitcoin (BTC) in a way. So, I regularly sweep Paper wallets with Bitcoin in cold storage to my hot wallet and I have done many of those in the past. One of the golden rules are not to destroy those wallets, so I remembered that and I kept those Paper wallets.  

I was looking for some disposable cash to invest in a Alt coin that I suspected would go up very fast, so I remembered that those Paper wallets still contained some "Fork" coins and I converted them to cash and bought a lot of those coins. (I then sold that for a 80% profit and bought Bitcoin again.)  

[Fesatmas]

if that's the case you are very lucky. whether you have not previously checked it again or searched again in recent years.
if you completely forget the wallet and then recall it is a miracle. moreover you still have the seeds.
you are also too careless to save the seed only in your device, if it is lost or the device is corrupted it will not be able to be opened forever.

Yes it's op luck still saving and finding the old seed phrase, even I think he forgot he saved it last time. The luck the op can't get a second time I think.
Indeed if talking about the past can still happen as op experienced, but for now it will be difficult to find such an experience. In fact, I think now most people will check their portfolio every day.

[Gosgosking]

You are lucky because firstly some wallet it is is not possible to screenshot the seed Phrase directly from the wallet but you were able to do that. You are lucky to get access to your old wallet when you were in the tight corner of need of money.

[Jody.Drummer]

I have this same experience since I'm saving my seed phrase using a screenshot of my phone. I have many wallets since 2015 that I'm using to claim faucets and I totally forgot it since I stop involving in cryptocurrency after I become busy with my studies and I don't remember where I save my seed phrase when I get back again in Bitcoin after many years of inactive. I'm just lucky to see the seed phrase screenshot when I'm transferring all the photos of my old phone to my computer to make a backup. The amount is not that huge but it's good enough since it almost equals to my 1 year salary at work.

Equivalent to 1 year's salary at work? it may be quite a large amount if calculated in the duration of 1 year. Can reach $ 10K depending on how much salary in a month. Indeed, the incident of saving seeds using screenshots is almost felt by everyone, including me because it may be a simple method. But again backing it up in someplace will really help us someday. Whether it's stored on your cellphone or computer, or in a notebook, it will be very important if you disassemble it at any time.

[_BlackStar]

if that's the case you are very lucky. whether you have not previously checked it again or searched again in recent years.
if you completely forget the wallet and then recall it is a miracle. moreover you still have the seeds.
you are also too careless to save the seed only in your device, if it is lost or the device is corrupted it will not be able to be opened forever.

Yes, the Op might be quite lucky about bitcoin. But somehow someone is still kind enough to compose a story that I don't think is 100% true without proof. You and I can still tell people you have dozens of bitcoins stored in your wallet for a long time without realizing that they have been very valuable and only realized after years. LOL

Of course I'm not asking the OP to prove the story is true, but I just agree that bitcoin is something that has benefited all long term holders so far. About that story, there is a good lesson to be learned and it is about keeping assets and wallets safe when one owns any amount of bitcoin.

[Marvelman]

Of course I'm not asking the OP to prove the story is true, but I just agree that bitcoin is something that has benefited all long term holders so far. About that story, there is a good lesson to be learned and it is about keeping assets and wallets safe when one owns any amount of bitcoin.

Of course, it is possible that there are such cases, but people who were involved in Bitcoin in its early days most likely wouldn't keep their seed phrase on their phones. Think about it: if you had significant funds invested in some assets, would you take a screenshot with your mobile phone and completely forget about it for years? I find it hard to imagine.

Okay, maybe if it's a few hundred dollars, or even a thousand dollars, but that can't be called a life-changing amount.

[Issa56]

That's really great atleast you now understand is better you have bitcoin and also you have benefited from bitcoin, and am sure you are still going to buy and hold bitcoin again, but next time if you are storing your private key always make sure you don't screenshot it on your phone, make sure you store your private key in a place that's not connected to the internet for security purpose. Anything can happen to your mobile phone, anybody can have access to your mobile phone and they can easily steal your private key and your wallet address will be compromised. So learn to secure your private key offline.

[dunfida]

if that's the case you are very lucky. whether you have not previously checked it again or searched again in recent years.
if you completely forget the wallet and then recall it is a miracle. moreover you still have the seeds.
you are also too careless to save the seed only in your device, if it is lost or the device is corrupted it will not be able to be opened forever.

Yes it's op luck still saving and finding the old seed phrase, even I think he forgot he saved it last time. The luck the op can't get a second time I think.
Indeed if talking about the past can still happen as op experienced, but for now it will be difficult to find such an experience. In fact, I think now most people will check their portfolios every day.

If you are a kind of person who do keep things and dont easily throw off something important even you do miss or stop on dealing with it and move into the next then once the time you do encounter it again then its

impossible that you won't really be able to remember those things especially if you do know that you have some considerable amount then for sure you would tend to remember everything since it might be a life changing
kind of situation or something that you could buy that you do want with that amount.

Luck does really play a role for these kind of circumstances on which whether those keys are still intact after all the years you've been ignoring or rejecting it.

[Anonylz]

Btc bailed you out halfway through even though not up to the entire funds you are looking for. Good thing you still had the screenshot of you keys in your device, you never know how an old waller with little sat in it can make a difference now.
I had a similar experience long ago, I had btc in my old wallet that ignore because the value was small..... then btc price pumped to 20k and my small btc price was high I couldn't believe it, it was a good feeling.

[Smartvirus]

I was getting frantic when I remembered that one of my old Blockchain wallets. I started wondering if the wallet I hadn't used for years could have some valuable bitcoins. I also remembered that I had the seed words in my phone as a screenshot (crazy!) so I imported the wallet. Boy, you wouldn't believe how much I had in there. Not up to all the money I needed but enough to make a difference.

I wonder who else has access to old wallets

Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies have made me determine that which is of the most importance with regards to the keys or seed phrases and how to keep them save. Screenshoting my private keys isn't one of the best methods or strategy towards that. Although, my devices might be sole to me and I entertain a high level of privacy towards how its handled but, you never can completely tell what could go wrong at the least minute. Hence, I don't have my keys or seed phrase anywhere on any electronic device even.

You must be someone that isn't about regular switch of devices or give attention to much advancement in technology as per phones. Or perhaps, you just keep adding to your collection. Either ways, you were lucky to have hot your seeds in your phone, not deleted, uncompromised and it reminded safe still. That's nice but either ways, you have to mind the way you handle your wallet and begin to see cryptocurrencies or bitcoin as important as it is and not something you neglect, only to pick up where you left off.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

So I needed some funds to make up for a payment. I contacted three of my clients who were supposed to pay for some writing jobs but the payments were delayed. I was getting frantic when I remembered that one of my old Blockchain wallets. I started wondering if the wallet I hadn't used for years could have some valuable bitcoins.

I also remembered that I had the seed words in my phone as a screenshot (crazy!)

First and foremost, I did love to point this out, keeping or storing  wallet seed phrase in the form a screenshot saved on your phone gallery is the most crazy and the most negligent way of keeping your wallet safe from hackers and exploiters, and thank God you added "crazy" at the end of the sentence, as that shows you really know its crazy.
This kind of negligence shouldn't be practiced under no circumstances, no matter how in a hurry you are to get things done, when it comes to creating a wallet, please slow down, calm down and do this properly to avoid future loss or losses.

so I imported the wallet. Boy, you wouldn't believe how much I had in there. Not up to all the money I needed but enough to make a difference.

I wonder who else has access to old wallets

This has happened to me earlier this year, though not with bitcoin but with Ethereum, if I could remember, it was back in 2017, when I decided to take break from crypto, I left a little above 0.09 eth (which I used for transaction fees) in one of my wallets, when I returned back to crypto in 2020, I created new wallets and abandoned all the old wallets, I had totally forgotten I had over 0 09 eth somewhere.
It was one day I was just going through all the seed phrases of wallets I've ever created in my crypto journey, then the thought came to me "what if there's funds in one of this wallets?", so then I decided to import those wallets one after the other and on this very one, 0.09 eth which I believe was worth less than $20 usd when I left it was now worth over $300 usd, I was so happy, it felt like money picked on the street, it was super exciting and the feeling was out of this world, and this happened in a time I was facing some serious financial difficulties.

[Kasabus]

So I needed some funds to make up for a payment. I contacted three of my clients who were supposed to pay for some writing jobs but the payments were delayed. I was getting frantic when I remembered that one of my old Blockchain wallets. I started wondering if the wallet I hadn't used for years could have some valuable bitcoins. I also remembered that I had the seed words in my phone as a screenshot (crazy!) so I imported the wallet. Boy, you wouldn't believe how much I had in there. Not up to all the money I needed but enough to make a difference.

I wonder who else has access to old wallets

Wow that's a relief!  You're just one of those who successfully retrieve their old wallet with bitcoin in it, luckily you still have that seed screenshot. But maybe you're putting your seed phrase in danger when you are just keeping it in your gallery and that some friends of yours may accidentally open it. So have it store in a very safe place wherein you're the only one who can access it. Do it now before you lost your bitcoin and feel sorry for it.

[Vaculin]

So I needed some funds to make up for a payment. I contacted three of my clients who were supposed to pay for some writing jobs but the payments were delayed. I was getting frantic when I remembered that one of my old Blockchain wallets. I started wondering if the wallet I hadn't used for years could have some valuable bitcoins. I also remembered that I had the seed words in my phone as a screenshot (crazy!) so I imported the wallet. Boy, you wouldn't believe how much I had in there. Not up to all the money I needed but enough to make a difference.

I wonder who else has access to old wallets

You're still lucky that you never lost your screenshot and still access your old wallet. But never be confident in just doing a screenshot just to keep your seeds. Always be responsible in making it more safe by transferring that data to a more secure device which cannot be access by anyone of your family or friends. Or better yet withraw your bitcoin and store it in a hard wallet which i think will make your bitcoins safe from all sorts of scamming that will steal your bitcoins.

[Flexystar]

Ahh, yeah the old is gold stuff. I know that and it has happened with me too. Many times we create different wallets, through simple sites like bitcoin dot org and end up with private and public keys with us. I have used it few times before I sat up proper wallet for me. But missed the printed copies many times and found it while doing the house chores. I know that’s really casual approach for it but since then I have proper wallet and cold storage wallet so that I won’t miss my coins like this.

[sklopan]

In general, many often have problems when working with bitcoin. And most often this is due to the fact that traders simply do not have enough experience.

[carlfebz2]

In general, many often have problems when working with bitcoin. And most often this is due to the fact that traders simply do not have enough experience.

You are totally talking shit because your post is totally irrelevant or doesnt really connect on what OP had been talking about.Its not about trading and experience but rather on having access on old wallets you do

have and going back to the topic then i dont experience this one since i havent able to engage into bitcoin on to those early years which you could possibly able to make huge money if you had bought cheap
into those days.

Its really that regrettable or having those kind of stress and being annoyed if you do really mind off on how you do miss out that big opportunity.

[Wakate]

So I needed some funds to make up for a payment. I contacted three of my clients who were supposed to pay for some writing jobs but the payments were delayed. I was getting frantic when I remembered that one of my old Blockchain wallets. I started wondering if the wallet I hadn't used for years could have some valuable bitcoins. I also remembered that I had the seed words in my phone as a screenshot (crazy!) so I imported the wallet. Boy, you wouldn't believe how much I had in there. Not up to all the money I needed but enough to make a difference.

I wonder who else has access to old wallets

This is impressive op having a forgotten wallet that has good amount of Bitcoin which you couldn't remember since. This is one of the advantages of keeping your seed phrase safe from third parties. I see it safe to keep your Bitcoin in a wallet that you have access to the seed phrase than exchanges that could close your account and embezzle the fund that is there. Almost similar case had happened to me when I forgot that I had a good amount 9f Bitcoin in my Wallet.

[Ale88]

So I needed some funds to make up for a payment. I contacted three of my clients who were supposed to pay for some writing jobs but the payments were delayed. I was getting frantic when I remembered that one of my old Blockchain wallets. I started wondering if the wallet I hadn't used for years could have some valuable bitcoins. I also remembered that I had the seed words in my phone as a screenshot (crazy!) so I imported the wallet. Boy, you wouldn't believe how much I had in there. Not up to all the money I needed but enough to make a difference.

I wonder who else has access to old wallets

First of all I'm very happy for you! Second, I hope you now saved the seed somewhere else and deleted the screenshot. Third, your story reminded me when I was a kid a I would find a few dollars in a winter jacket or in a pair of jeans, but at the same time it's also an indication of how things change, now even this kind of "surprises" are digital