You may not recognize the name James Howells, but you’ve probably heard a story or two like his.
Way back in 2009, 24-year-old Howells became interested in a fun new digital money called “bitcoin.” Eventually he figured out how to set up a bitcoin mining rig and let it run for a while – 8,000 BTC later he stopped the experiment. It seemed like a waste of time, and electricity.
After all, the first transaction that gave bitcoin monetary value was in October 2009. A Finnish computer science student known online as Sirius sold 5,050 BTC for $5.02 – giving each a “market price” of just $0.0009 or 9/100ths of a penny.
Howells sighed, took his mining rig apart and threw his hard drive and its $7.20 in bitcoin into a junk drawer. Some time later, his roommate went on a decluttering spree… And now, Howells’s 8,000 BTC are worth $786,728,000 – if anyone can locate the hard drive in a grassed-over landfill among 110,000 tons of garbage.
It’s a nightmare scenario, and for James, it’s not just a bad dream; it’s his reality. The Newport Household Waste Recycling Centre in South Wales has steadfastly refused to grant him permission to go and look for it.
James has offered the cash-strapped council a hefty slice of the money if they allow him and a team of experts to start digging.
But the council says the landfill where the hard disc is buried can’t be touched due to strict environmental regulations.
Unfortunately, he’s not alone…
Easy come, easy go?
A few years back, The New York Times ran an article on the challenge of digital asset ownership. Lost Passwords Lock Millionaires Out of Their Bitcoin Fortunes details a few more examples of people who own a potential fortune – but can’t access it.
The article made one absolutely shocking claim:
Of the existing 18.5 million Bitcoin, around 20 percent – currently worth around $140 billion – appear to be in lost or otherwise stranded wallets, according to the cryptocurrency data firm Chainalysis.
While we can’t help but feel sympathy for James and the others who’ve had a similar issue, this story underscores a critical lesson for all investors.
The importance of secure asset management simply cannot be overstated.
If you lose your ATM card, you can request a new one from the bank. Forget your PIN? Sure, it’s a hassle, but you can get it reset.
If you lose the deed to your home, the title company you worked with can furnish a copy. Or the County Recorder’s Office – again, getting a copy would be a hassle but hardly insurmountable.
What if your brokerage account is hacked? Banks and brokers have decades of experience detecting and preventing fraud. They have numerous safeguards in place to halt suspicious activity in its tracks. Lose your credentials? You’ll have to call them up and play 20 questions to satisfy them you’re really the owner.
The point is, it’s incredibly difficult to completely lose an asset.
Difficult, but clearly not impossible.
Avoiding bitcoin blunders
As digital currencies become a more common asset in our savings, ensuring their safety is paramount. Here at BitIRA, we offer bitcoin IRAs with something that’s hard to find anywhere else: Peace of mind.
First, we have partnered with Ledger Enterprise, the #1 expert in digital asset storage and security. Ledger Vault uses multisignature authorizations to prevent a single point of compromise – private keys for your assets are decentralized across multiple devices.
With BitIRA, there are NO personal devices or keys to keep track of. You CANNOT simply throw away the wrong hard drive and lose your entire crypto portfolio forever. You CANNOT accidentally flush your hardware wallet down the toilet (trust me, this has happened) and lose everything.
Finally, we offer $150 million in end-to-end insurance to protect your digital assets whether they’re in storage or in transit.
Listen: When you choose BitIRA, you make sure that your digital assets will NEVER be among the “20% in lost or abandoned wallets.” It simply cannot happen.
Stories like these should be a thing of the past. The technology around cryptocurrency management has grown almost as quickly as crypto prices.
By choosing BitIRA, you’re not just diversifying with cryptocurrency; you’re investing in security and peace of mind.
Whether you’re a seasoned crypto enthusiast or just beginning to explore digital assets as part of your retirement planning, the My BitIRA platform provides the security and ease of use you need to diversify with confidence.
So, while we can feel sympathy or Schadenfreude over James Howells’s predicament, let it serve as a reminder.
Choose BitIRA for a secure, hassle-free approach to cryptocurrency diversification. You can get started in just a few minutes any time, day or night. Or contact our Digital Currency Specialists at 1-800-299-1567 for a one-on-one consultation.
