Julian Figueroa lost 14 BTC worth $1.6 million: he says millions of others will make the same mistakes
Host of The Exit Manual, Julian Figueroa, has lost 14 BTC over the final eight years, worth round $1.6 million at this time. As if that determine wasn’t unhealthy sufficient, what’s worse is that “90% of individuals shopping for Bitcoin at this time” are going to make one of the three mistakes in Bitcoin safety that price Figueroa his treasured BTC.
If you aren’t paying consideration by now, try to be. Figueroa’s expertise highlights a deeper, extra sobering actuality: the highway to monetary sovereignty is crowded with pitfalls, and practically each person will repeat no less than one of these hard-learned mistakes about Bitcoin safety.
Bitcoin Security Mistake #1: Day Trading Dreams, Market Realities
Figueroa’s largest remorse? Trying to outsmart the cycles by actively buying and selling:
(*14*)
“I lost 4 BTC simply because I believed I’d purchase low and promote high. Turns out, it’s practically unimaginable—no one beats the market over time, not execs, not hedge funds, no one. If you simply purchase and maintain, you virtually at all times outperform the merchants.”
The psychological pitfalls of FOMO, misreading tops and bottoms, and emotional hearth gross sales catch even execs in the jaws of volatility. Many lose sight of Bitcoin safety when risking cash on dangerous short-term strikes.
Mistake #2: The Altcoin Trap
Figueroa lost one other 2 BTC chasing altcoin hype:
(*14*)
“I purchased cash I believed would outperform Bitcoin. They didn’t.”
Altcoins supply wild upside tales, however, as Figueroa calls it, “altcoin logic in a swimsuit” usually finally ends up as a distraction.
Study after research reveals most altcoins underperform Bitcoin dramatically in the long term; a tough lesson seasoned by infinite ‘make it, lose it’ tales amongst crypto’s earliest adopters. Choosing stable Bitcoin safety means resisting distractions from speculative alternate options.
Mistake #3: Self-Custody or Bust
Yet, his largest loss got here from protecting cash on centralized exchanges. He says:
(*14*)
“8 BTC—practically $1 million—vanished when an change failed.”
Trusting custodians as an alternative of taking full private management is the commonest error, but even veterans fall sufferer to consolation and comfort. The lesson right here?
(*14*)
“Crypto exchanges should not banks, they’re casinos. Self-custody is the solely actual safety.”
You’re Not Alone: Epic Bitcoin Losses from Around the World
Figueroa isn’t the first (or the largest) Bitcoiner to study these classes the laborious approach:
James Howells by chance threw away a tough drive holding 8,000 BTC, now worth greater than $900 million. Stefan Thomas, a programmer, lost access to a pockets with 7,002 BTC (worth $777 million) after forgetting his IronKey password. He has solely two guesses left earlier than his fortune is gone eternally.
During the notorious Mt. Gox change collapse in 2014, over 850,000 BTC had been lost or stolen, leaving numerous customers completely locked out and sparking industry-wide debates on Bitcoin safety.
When QuadrigaCX’s founder died, he took the non-public keys to over $200 million with him, leaving hundreds of customers locked out of their funds. The checklist goes on and on—reminding traders that Bitcoin safety begins and ends with private accountability.
Figueroa’s story is a residing lesson for each newbies and seasoned Bitcoiners alike. So how do you keep away from becoming a member of the haunted ranks of the 2 million membership?
Don’t attempt to commerce “the backside or the prime.” Long-term holding traditionally outperforms virtually each day-trader; simply ask the 99% who’ve tried.
Ignore the siren tune of altcoins promising outsized beneficial properties and persist with the fundamentals. And most significantly, maintain your personal non-public keys. Learn self-custody and take full duty on your digital belongings. Because in Bitcoin, “not your keys, not your cash” is the chilly, laborious reality. Don’t let your story turn out to be one other cautionary story about Bitcoin safety.
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