Do You Feel the Rage Building Up Inside?
So, this morning proved a strange one. Albeit, a frustrating one also.
Around 9.00am, I received a call from a good friend of mine. He sounded a little distressed by the sound of his voice, so I probed further and asked what was the matter. Well, to sum it up in a nutshell, he lost his password to his BTC. All 14.6 of them.
I’ve been in the “crypto” game for a while now and, as many of you can probably related to, my mind was blown. So much so that I wanted my friends in on the action, even though I knew either they may not “get” it or weren’t too tech savvy. So, whilst none of them were even bothered enough to hear out my explanation of what this “crypto” thing actually is, a certain pal of mine bit the bullet and went in. Hard. Meaning, back then, 1 BTC was approximately £300 and he bought up almost 15 of the suckers! I took every pre-caution necessary to make sure he didn’t lose his security password and kept all his info safe. We were using the MultiBit wallet back then. And pretty much that’s where the story wrapped up… Until now.
So, the conversation went a little like this.
Friend: “Man, I’m seriously freaking out right now.”
Me: ”Really? What’s up?”
Friend: ”My wallet! I’ve seen that BTC has reached some crazy levels. Why didn’t you tell me before?”
Me: ”Well, we agreed that this was an investment that’d be tied up for a long time. I believe we ain’t got anywhere near maturity yet to be taking funds out.”
Friend: ”OK, well. Did you take down a copy of my password? I can’t remember it and therefore can’t log into my wallet.”
Me: ”Man, you wrote that down with me facing the other direction. You know full well I said you and only “you” are the one who should have access to it and know what it is. Where is the text file or the piece of paper you got hidden away with everything written on it?”
Friend: ”Man, I was doing some clearing out and I think I’ve chucked it. Anyway, can we retrieve it?”
Me: ”Hang on, man. What about the USB stick? You lost that too?”
Friend: ”I got so many now, I don’t know if I still got the one with the text file on it. This is bullshit!”
Me: ”OK, now listen. Calm down and think carefully. Fine, you may have thrown the paper away and lost the USB. What about the file on your computer?”
Friend: ”I don’t know. This was years ago, man. I can’t remember last week never mind four years back. Is that it? Has my money gone?”
Me: (Breaths a long sigh) "I told you that if you lose your password, that’s it. Your money is gone. Maybe take some time out and it’ll come to you."
Friend: ”This is absolute crap! How can people be in charge of so much money all on their own? There has to be some kind of third party I can get it touch with. Someone I can call to help me out? There has to be!”
Me: ”Nah man. Look, just take it easy. Think calmly. We kept several back-ups.”
Friend: ”Man, I need to go. I’ll ring you later…” (Phone cuts out)”*
Afterwards, I tried to ring him a few times but he wouldn’t answer. I don’t know what to say. Other than I’m really pissed off. This story right here, has probably occurred hundreds of times over, and will continue to do so as mass adoption sets in. It’s like a major cross-section of the masses out there are spoon-fed children. Wetting their pants when things go wrong and want somebody else to blame or pick up the pieces for them. I mean, during our talk, I started feeling accountable in some way, like I was part of the reason he may end up losing his money or something. Why should I though? I, as well as many others out there, are perfectly capable of securing a few ke ywords that hold the door shut to their digital wealth. It’s the new and innovative era of the “independent human”, but with institutionalization being such an ingrained facet of the average mind, what hope is there?
I just pray that with the growth and adoption of crypto and blockchain tech around the world, it will re-educate people to take control of their lives once more and not rely on other third parties to be their on-standby emergency guardian angel. We get it, you guys get it, so where is the bottleneck to understanding with so many others? A couple other instances have happened that I didn’t blog about (one being where a brand new steemian friend of mine forget his username and therefore couldn’t finalized his verification process). It’s like a war zone out there and if these individuals haven’t got the right artillery to join our ranks, they might as well forget about it getting involved altogether.
Rant over. I may update you guys on the outcome of my friend’s plight. Let’s see…
OMG GRRRRRRRR!!!! Friend or not, I think I would have smacked his head against the wall - REPEATEDLY!!! lol.... I mean wth!!! - Obviously for his sake, I hope he recalls it, but still... I can never understand people who don't keep their Sh!t in order!
That is on seriously EPIC FAIL of NOTE!
I know! I'm still stewing about this and it kinda ruined my day. I broke down all the "caveats" to him before he took the plunge, but when shit hits the fan, the blame game that follows, is all too easy... :(
It would have ruined my day too!!! And yes, people are so quick to pass the buck - and the funny thing is, it is ALWAYS people who CHOOSE not to take things seriously, or cant keep their affairs in order, that have exactly that kind of response.
Don't let it get to you - yes, he is your mate, but this is NOT your fault, and you should not be made to feel that way.
ai ai ai..... shakes head in disbelief!
Appreciate that, @jaynie. My intentions were to help this guy's financial future and put every protective measure I could think of, in place. I assumed if he needed anymore assistance, he'd ask...
Oh well, live and learn, right?
Yes that is true - let's hope HE learns!
Too bad from someone you call your friend. No matter what friendship should not be take for granted. Be careful Incase of next time @ezzy
Wise words, bud. :)
yeah thats crazy, it happens all the time - people are so used to just forgetting their password on all social medias, that they dont take this seriously! hope he recovers!!
Spot on! Imagine all the lost BTC floating around in digital space, never to be retrieved again. :)
That's a really sobering quote right there @ezzy. It really brings home to me how slow adoption of this stuff will be. If you're friends are struggling with it and they have you to guide them the what hope is there for the masses?
It reminds a bit of those who communist countries who actually miss the regime because they feel, "at least I knew how things stood then". 😢
Hopefully he'll remember where he's recorded the key. Maybe he's not answering because he's embarrassed.
However, that won't change my point in the first para.
Hopefully that will be the case but I'm not holding my breath!
Things will change, I'm sure of it. Most people are adaptable and, in some ways, sheep-like. They learn from others and act accordingly. Crypto hasn't even "begun" yet. It's all theoretical at present and most coins don't even have a use-case yet (exception with steem, of course). But, make no mistake, it will catch on, but slowly, like you mentioned. Just like e-mail, e-commerce and so may countless other revolutionary concepts and inventions preceding it. We are all super early adopters, and with a little orderly cognizance and self-responsibility, we could potentially come out the other side all the better for it.
Yeah. It's easy to forget we're super early adopters. Just wish I'd been a bit earlier with Steemit! Although the truth is, that even if I'd been aware of it in those early days, I doubt I would had taken the risk so I'm not complaining. 😁
This is a sad a rather sad one for your friend, I understand how he feels.
Some people are not just too too comfortable or should I rather say not too good with computer stuff.
However should have been more careful with his password
I know, bud. However, nobody explained anything to me about wallets and crypto. I discovered it all on my own and imparted this knowledge to those I hold near and dear to me. But, as the old adage goes, "knowledge is power", so some respect towards that statement, is expected.
Thanks for stopping by... :)
Haha ohh man this sounds all too familiar. Gotta feel bad for him for sure.... Doesn't even want his own financial independence...
Lol, I know, bud. However, implementing a few easy "safe-guards" in place, is quite simple in this space. I think he must have got a jarring shock when he saw how much it had risen by.
That might make him sick, cos whenever he sees there is increase in BTC. He will be more frustrated. This is reason why everyone should keep personal and account on a Personal file Nd backup on email account or draft. I await to hear as it goes with your friend
He's not too tech savvy, hence we weren't using any "sophisticated" measures, but what we had in place, should have sufficed. Exception to that being human error.
Actually, i am feeling angry and sad in same time. You know, the pain that guy is having. We may not understand that. Until we face the situation by ourselves.
But, from another perspective, who told you to dig your money somewhere, when you do not even have the idea what is it,and how you maintain it, you IDIOT!!!!
Still @ezzy, i do not know what to say in this situation. Just behave what you think the right . Don't blame yourself, you did mention the importance of it. It's mostly or entirely his fault.
Yeah, man. His blase negligence is what angered me a little. But I'm hoping he finds it and thereafter, understand the importance of passwords and crypto, in future.
Yeah, we also hope so. That's a lot of money.
That's crazy, but I bet it's a LOT more common than we think. It happens not just with Crypotos, but think about all the vinyl records, comic books, trading cards and even Beanie Babies that people have thrown away over the years that might have been worth thousands, tens of thousands or even a hundred thousand or more. To someone new to crypto currency, or not well versed in technology, like myself most of the time, they couldn't grasp what was going to happen to BTC, ETH, STEEM, or any of the other cryptos out there.
It's a missed opportunity, to be sure, but in my lifetime I missed Yahoo, Google and Amazon stock. I missed a house I could have flipped with my buddy and turned 100k profit in a year. I missed a year of blogging here because of stubbornness. It might be callus, but I don't feel a lot of remorse for your friends plight. We've all been there. Some of us learn, some of us wont ever learn.
I do hope he finds it though, it would be a life-changing sum of money if he manages to stumble upon the keys.
Well said, buddy. And I'll be honest. When I first read the BTC whitepaper and did some further digging, it was a true "light-switch" moment for me. I realised there is a good chance that some unbelievable rewards could be enjoyed from holding even a handful of these coins. I translated that emphasis to my friend at the time. I really thought he comprehended how "serious" I was, given the way I broke it down to him. Sadly, this was not the case. So yeah, I guess you could say, "if you made your bed, now lie on it".
But, of course, I do hope he retrieves it somehow.
My friend has about 2 BTC, he bought one at $200 USD just for fun, and earned the rest through faucets and other promotions about 4 years ago. he almost got out when it was up to 19k, but he is really good about keeping his keys secure. I'm amazed at how lax people will be with their assets these days.
He is sure frustrated and adding more fire rekindled the rage in him. So sad though