Lessons From the Biggest Bitcoin Losses in History.

[348Judah]

Ideally, we should learn from others mistakes and not from our own, because we don't need to also go through the same mistakes they made before we could learn something for ourselves.

We see the way a huge sum of crypto assets has been lost due to one reason or the other from across the world, this may be from the use of an exchange, hack, scam or any other careless means of handling our bitcoin assets, while we also be reminded that bitcoin transactions are irreversible and we can't afford to make any costly mistake by what we do in cryptocurrency, that may put our assets at risk.

[HajiBagi]

Trusting the wrong persons:Some bitcoin losses recorded in history was because the victims trusted their spouses, children,  friends,  siblings and even strangers with lots of information,  information that was best kept private. Through that means,  wallets have be accessed without authorisation from the original owner. People should learn to take privacy seriously.

This has the one of the biggest mistakes that makes people lose their bitcoin, trusting people who are around you is very dangerous and we should pray never be part of that victim because is it very painful. I have seen many news of how people loses their bitcoin because they trust their children, wife, brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers, including their relatives, people who we see around us can change because of money, money is a root of evil that makes people do what they don’t want to do.

No matter how a person is loyal to you never let them know anything about your bitcoin, the only reason why you can let someone know about your bitcoin is when the person is your favorite person like a son or a wife who you both tell each other a secret but still make sure you don’t let he or her know too much because when someone knows everything about you they will have 99% chance to do anything they like with, letting people know about your bitcoin password or information is not bad but let it be a single person that will never tell anyone about it.

[Grace333]

I always tell people that anything beyond self custody is a no for me. Exchange weren't designed to store your money for long term, even the name says it all, "Exchange " and it should be used for that and not holding our coins, but then anyone who value their security must be willing to pay the price of keeping their seed phrase safe from anyone or anything that can cause disaster including family member whom we can trust with our money. They say what you don't know is bigger than you so immediately anyone gets the ambition to invest in bitcoin they should take out time learn these things early as they begin their journey, so they won't make similar mistakes.

[Issa56]

I always tell people that anything beyond self custody is a no for me. Exchange weren't designed to store your money for long term, even the name says it all, "Exchange " and it should be used for that and not holding our coins,

Some people take exchange as the appropriate place to hold their coin. Some newbies do thing if anything happens to their coin on exchange, then they going to be refunded, and that’s why they just prefer to leave their coin on exchange, because they think they will be able to hold the exchange responsible if anything happens.

Lots of newbies have not experienced any exchange being compromised, and that’s the reason why they don’t listen even if you tell them exchange is not the appropriate place for them to store their bitcoin, but when they fall victim, they going to learn.

If you want to store your coin, then keep on a non custodial wallet, you should be the only one that will be able to access your bitcoin, make sure you have full control over your bitcoin, and make sure you properly protect your seed phrase.

[pawanjain]

All of these lessons are summed up nicely and OP has summarized the post well.
I have seen people doing all of these mistakes in my crypto journey.
Some people were from my friends circle too who had committed to some of these mistakes but it's only with time that we learn from our mistakes.
While it's good to actually learn from our mistakes but it's even better when we get to learn from others' mistakes and this thread just does that.

[knowngunman]

4. Sending Bitcoin to the Wrong Address.

Some traditional bank transactions can actually be reversed, but bitcoin transactions cannot be reversed meaning if you make a mistake in the address your bitcoin is lost forever.

lesson learnt:
Always verify addresses very well before sending and you can also consider sending a very small amount for testing before transferring large amount.

Maybe this is not longer possible even for traditional banks?

About two months ago, a friend made mistake and sent money to wrong account number but all efforts to get that money back prove abortive. We reach out to the bank to complain about the incident but we were given a week just to get the feedback. Unfortunately, the feedback was nothing positive. The bank said that the wrong person we sent money to failed to respond to query and they can't reverse the money without their consent. If there's any other way we can reach the person to plead with him for reversal, we should not hesitate. We just have to let go of that money.

Moral lesson:

Either bank or crypto, pay attention to the address you're sending to. Verify every detail possible and always assume no one is going to help you reverse the transaction in case you send to wrong address.

[Fiasem20]

4. Sending Bitcoin to the Wrong Address.

Some traditional bank transactions can actually be reversed, but bitcoin transactions cannot be reversed meaning if you make a mistake in the address your bitcoin is lost forever.

lesson learnt:
Always verify addresses very well before sending and you can also consider sending a very small amount for testing before transferring large amount.

Maybe this is not longer possible even for traditional banks?

About two months ago, a friend made mistake and sent money to wrong account number but all efforts to get that money back prove abortive. We reach out to the bank to complain about the incident but we were given a week just to get the feedback. Unfortunately, the feedback was nothing positive. The bank said that the wrong person we sent money to failed to respond to query and they can't reverse the money without their consent. If there's any other way we can reach the person to plead with him for reversal, we should not hesitate. We just have to let go of that money.

Moral lesson:

Either bank or crypto, pay attention to the address you're sending to. Verify every detail possible and always assume no one is going to help you reverse the transaction in case you send to wrong address.

Honestly even banks won’t give you 100% guarantee that the money you sent to a wrong account would be reversed in a week or more,recently I got debited from an unknown source and I was so pained because literally I have been careful with my bank credentials,only for me to visit the bank to lay my report,the only thing they could do is to block the transaction and get a new ATM card for me,instantly I became furious because all they could do is to block the transaction and couldn’t even reverse the money.The level of incompetence in the traditional banking system is high and alarming so don’t expect bank to reverse an unauthorized transaction,they only thing they can offer is to block transactions coming from an unknown individual.

[Taricoins]

All of these lessons are summed up nicely and OP has summarized the post well.
I have seen people doing all of these mistakes in my crypto journey.
Some people were from my friends circle too who had committed to some of these mistakes but it's only with time that we learn from our mistakes.
While it's good to actually learn from our mistakes but it's even better when we get to learn from others' mistakes and this thread just does that.

If you are the type of person that actually seems a whole wider range of knowledge before involving yourself into something new like let's the act of buying and gather Bitcoin thenaybe there is high for you to avoid so many of the lessons that have been listed above there and that's why it's very important, learning from other people mistake is a whole lot better but the only things is that human still tend to make theirs no matter because at the end self experience is one thing you can take out of a lesson and most person now experience this the hard way.

[macson]

5. Emotional Losses During Market Crashes.

Some people lost their bitcoin because they were panicking and decided to sell during bitcoin dip and later they regretted that action or sell.

lesson learnt:
A lack of conviction about bitcoin can be just as costly as poor security.

A market drop is only a temporary condition --- it won't last forever. So, instead of thinking about selling during a dip, they should hold. The market will eventually recover, and all current losses will be covered as prices recover.

The most important thing is not to panic when you see a price drop. Stay focused and do other activities as needed. This way, you won't be constantly fixated on market price movements, which could affect your emotional state and lead you to make a decision to sell.

[BitBakerr1]

While it's good to actually learn from our mistakes but it's even better when we get to learn from others' mistakes and this thread just does that.

I agree with you 100% it’s better to learn from the mistakes of others than learning from your own mistakes, when you learn from your own mistakes you are going to lose money but if you learn from other peoples mistakes you won’t lose any money, it is true that the OP has shown us a lot of mistakes and we should learn from them so we won’t make those kind of mistakes in the future.
I know people that has made mistakes for example a friend of mine was scammed through online link he clicked and those scammers got access to his wallet and that has made me to stop clicking links any how.

[Hazink]

Self custody is one of the biggest advantages of bitcoin which also comes with responsibilities. If you don't take your time a f lear more about wallet security, you can lose access to your funds without any means of recovering it back.

Security is one thing everyone should learn and know about Bitcoin before they talk about investing in it, because when you invest without knowing how to secure your asset, you can easily lose it and there is no way of getting it back.

Privacy too is very important, because not all things or details about your investment people need to know or you share in public. The less unnecessary attention you draw to your holdings, the more comfortable and safer you will benefit over time

Some people have loud mouths. I don't know what their aim is. When they hold bitcoin, they come out in public to showcase the amount they hold or tell groups of people so that they see them as holders or as wealthy people. When they get robbed or attacked in their home they will not blame themselves for being so loud.

[Queen uloma]

Bitcoin gives you full control of your money but  that freedom Comes with full responsibility. No customer care will recover Your bitcoin if you make some certain mistakes. I think bitcoin holders need to focus more on this three things. Which are to be security conscious, this has to do with protecting your seed phrase and your private keys like your life depends on it. Secondly, they need to be patience, they shouldn’t make decisions out of greed or fear. Thirdly, they shouldn’t stop learning because the crypto space change every day, if you keep learning you will improve your security habits.

[rat03gopoh]

If you want to store your coin, then keep on a non custodial wallet, you should be the only one that will be able to access your bitcoin, make sure you have full control over your bitcoin, and make sure you properly protect your seed phrase.

Well, OP also points out the inherent risks of being your own bank and the important point "overconfidence is dangerous". The reason, as a beginner holding money in the exchange (in their perspective), is that "I can at least blame someone else for the loss and have some hope of legal restitution". Many may disagree, but that's the reality.

[Daniel91]

OP, very interesting topic.
I think the big problem here is that most people have never had any experience with managing financial assets and when, unexpectedly for some, they come across such an opportunity with btc, they do not have the necessary knowledge and skills to manage their financial assets, analyze the market, create financial plans and strategies, and prepare exit strategies.
Because of this, emotions have a greater influence on many people than rational planning in the crypto market and it usually ends badly.

[Emjay24]

Trusting the wrong persons:Some bitcoin losses recorded in history was because the victims trusted their spouses, children,  friends,  siblings and even strangers with lots of information,  information that was best kept private. Through that means,  wallets have be accessed without authorisation from the original owner. People should learn to take privacy seriously.

This has the one of the biggest mistakes that makes people lose their bitcoin, trusting people who are around you is very dangerous and we should pray never be part of that victim because is it very painful. I have seen many news of how people loses their bitcoin because they trust their children, wife, brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers, including their relatives, people who we see around us can change because of money, money is a root of evil that makes people do what they don’t want to do.

Trust is a big word and in Bitcoin, it's everything. If you trust people with knowledge of your keys, then you've given them every right to spend your coins. The best approach is using a multisignature wallet, give them one of the keys, the second pair with your lawyer and the third to a trusted friend. That way they cannot spend it unless you're no more and your friend and lawyer brings their pairs. I will only trust my nuclear family with the information of those with the keys for easier accessibility on my demise and not trusting a single entity with total access to my major holding.

[The Cryptovator]

I think the big problem here is that most people have never had any experience with managing financial assets and when, unexpectedly for some, they come across such an opportunity with btc, they do not have the necessary knowledge and skills to manage their financial assets, analyze the market, create financial plans and strategies, and prepare exit strategies.
Because of this, emotions have a greater influence on many people than rational planning in the crypto market and it usually ends badly.

Managing financial assets and managing Bitcoin, including other crypto assets, aren't the same. Managing traditional financial assets isn't hard for us since we are very familiar with that. However, newcomers to the crypto industry often struggle to envision the appropriate handling of these assets. It's because they don't have any knowledge about the crypto industry.

So yes, we have to learn a lot about Bitcoin and crypto. We have to take lessons from others' mistakes; before jumping into crypto investment, we must gain primary knowledge about it. Then, we can gradually understand how crypto actually works and develop our own strategies. Depending on our individual situations, we may need to develop different strategies for making the right decisions at the right time regarding crypto investments.

[Somegory]

It can never be me, said some people who believe they are superior over others, they look at people who make mistakes as if something bad in growing inside of them, yea I know some people like that.

Some investors are so careful that they believe the best way is to store the recovery seed in their heads, talking from what I have seen happening around me, I just pray that they don't forget or get in a bad accident that can result into them not remembering.

Over complicating of things is something many arent talking about, keeping recovery seed offline shouldn't be this very complicating, but you feel you are different, for anyone who thinks this way they will see something different in the end too.

[Obim34]

~snip

May we not deviate from the topic, though lost funds wired to a wrong traditional bank can be reversed, especially huge amounts. The example you gave, is a result of a faulty system, if due process is followed, the money will be recovered.

While for Bitcoin, there is no starting point to begin recovery, unlike banks that has central authority, Bitcoin decentralized nature makes it extremely difficult, that is why it is important to verify and copy address properly.

[DYOR+BTC]

One thing with great understanding is lessons, lessons at times stands as a stepping stone for the correction of errors especially for those willing to learn from there mistakes.  
After looking at most bitcoin lost in history, I have come to understand that is is very important never to trust anyone with our bitcoin official informations know matter the relationship attached because humans can change at anytime and carefulness also. Is a key in what ever we are going.

[tabas]

It can never be me, said some people who believe they are superior over others, they look at people who make mistakes as if something bad in growing inside of them, yea I know some people like that.

They are overconfident but IMHO, this is also dangerous. There might be a new modus and they're not aware of it and are confident that they'll be able to spot it out but because of their superiority and condescending attitude, they're the same as the other victims that could fall for it.

Some investors are so careful that they believe the best way is to store the recovery seed in their heads, talking from what I have seen happening around me, I just pray that they don't forget or get in a bad accident that can result into them not remembering.

That's crazy and I've really read people have said that. They might have the best memory and in shape but, they can't be sure that they'll remain in shape forever. Always back up your keys!