Super news about grumpy Bitcoin misery-guts

[Replies From View]

You will doubtless recall the tale from 2013 of a man who pleaded for permission to recover his hard drive containing trashed bitcoins worth £4 million:  http://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-25134289

Well, in a follow-up that reminds me of the TV series 7-Up in some ways, they are likely worth £210 million now, and he is being quite the fusspot:  http://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55658942



lol I hope he never recovers them!!


Let us all pray for corrosion to hit all those diodes in double-quick time.  Envision the rot upon all those computer components, and wish his fortune away!

[Huxleys Babkins]

On a similar note:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/technology/bitcoin-passwords-wallets-fortunes.html

"This whole idea of being your own bank — let me put it this way: Do you make your own shoes?" he said. "The reason we have banks is that we don't want to deal with all those things that banks do."

Or just don't lose your password like a massive dickhead?

[Buelligan]

I hope everyone in South Wales who has an old hard drive takes it to Newport pit.  That's what I hope.

[katzenjammer]

On a similar note:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/technology/bitcoin-passwords-wallets-fortunes.html

Or just don't lose your password like a massive dickhead?

Bitcoin?  Shitcoin more like!!! eh lads?

[El Unicornio, mang]

I still don't understand bitcoins. Watched a 15-minute video explaining them and ended up even more confused.

These stories have made me feel less bad about my hard drive with almost 2TB of stuff that failed on Tuesday and is now unrecoverable without paying hundreds.

[Shit Good Nose]

He doesn't come across as a grumpy misery guts about it.  If anything he seemed humbly resigned to it then and investigating possible positive outcomes now.  Or have a I missed an interim one where he trashed a TV studio and punched a child in the tits?

[Non Stop Dancer]

Where are our resident bitcoin enthusiasts? I know there was someone here who had a stack worth loads when it got to 20k a couple years ago. Hopefully he HODLd but I wonder if he's tempted to cash in now? Muggins here bought at the top of the 20k bubble so I've pretty much broken even, but I don't think I can be arsed to sell just yet as I only bought about a grands worth. Either I lose that or it's worth something preposterous one day, so I'm happy just to hope for the latter but assume a grand down the drain.

[darby o chill]

"The manager explained that things that were sent to landfill three or four months ago could be three to five feet deep.
"He confirmed my worst fears when he said that.
"He did mention that when people were investigating for evidence, they turn up with 15 to 20 people in full protective gear with diggers and dogs as well.
"The truth is I haven't got the funds or ability to make that happen at the moment without a definite pay cheque at the end of it."

Couldn't he organize a crew of 20 people to help dig through the muck and promise some type of percentage if found? I mean it's £4.6 million. I guess someone might stash it in their wellies and potter off home whistling.

[frajer]

Surely what would happen is the hard drive would be recovered completely fucked by years of leaky shit being compacted around it, and the bloke would say "Well I offered you 25% of the payout, and 25% of nothing is a bit fat zero. Sorry to waste all the taxpayer's money, council nerds. Laters."

Alternatively the accumulated bin juice somehow gave the hard driver "powers" and the Bitcoins are now worth a gazillion pounds.

I'm all turned around. Take the punt, council nerds!

[peanutbutter]

Bought a bunch of drugs at the start of the pandemic,the leftover bitcoin is now worth more than all the drugs I bought so I've effectively made a profit if I cash out now. Kinda regret not buying some to keep because it seemed obvious it was due another period of tons of media attention.


Seems likely it will crash again some time in the next few months, and then have another surge in a few years when people remember it exists.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Bought a bunch of drugs at the start of the pandemic,the leftover bitcoin is now worth more than all the drugs I bought so I've effectively made a profit if I cash out now. Kinda regret not buying some to keep because it seemed obvious it was due another period of tons of media attention.


Seems likely it will crash again some time in the next few months, and then have another surge in a few years when people remember it exists.

I had about a tenner sitting in a wallet then I accidentally in a rush to make a bootable usb stick imaged over my laptop's hdd (yes... dd of=/dev/sda unix fans).

It bothers me that this lost tenner will appreciate in value, unlike a normal lost tenner... but there's also no way it would've ever been left to appreciate since I would've just spent it on my next order. Still irks me though.

[Shit Good Nose]

I hovered over buying some/investing/whatever the correct term is way back with that story about that German guy that bought some for £2 or something and they were now (then) worth £2000 (can't remember the exact figures, just for illustrative purposes).  At that point they were still relatively affordable and I could've bought a couple of hundred pounds worth but, like others, didn't understand them and couldn't get my head around it.  It sounded way too much like a dodgy pyramid scheme in the digital world to me, so I didn't bother.  Naturally I regret it, but whatever.  Luckily I have shares in Tesco and First Group (goes to check values......)

[Replies From View]

He doesn't come across as a grumpy misery guts about it.  If anything he seemed humbly resigned to it then and investigating possible positive outcomes now.  Or have a I missed an interim one where he trashed a TV studio and punched a child in the tits?

We can split hairs over it, but essentially we have a man who lacks millions of pounds that he would otherwise have.  That alone is a reason to rejoice.

[imitationleather]

He probably would have spent it all on grim illegal crush videos long before the bitcoin price got this high.

But pointing that out would ruin the media's lovely story so they keep it quiet.

[Shit Good Nose]

He probably would have spent it all on grim illegal crush videos long before the bitcoin price got this high.

He could've made his own.  Think of the production values.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Depends how he would have spent it I suppose. If he would have converted the bitcoin into pounds and spent a lot of that money locally it's a shame, but I agree with Newport Council that they had to say no - it looks like even if they were legally allowed to say yes it would cost the council millions.

What do people usually spend bitcoin on?

[imitationleather]

He could've made his own.  Think of the production values.

I didn't suggest he'd be buying a different kind of illegal video purely for your benefit. I hope you appreciate this!

[Marner and Me]

Depends how he would have spent it I suppose. If he would have converted the bitcoin into pounds and spent a lot of that money locally it's a shame, but I agree with Newport Council that they had to say no - it looks like even if they were legally allowed to say yes it would cost the council millions.

What do people usually spend bitcoin on?

Drugs and all manner of darkness from the dark web. My mates a copper and he had a very interesting lecture from someone about the dark web, drugs, guns children all bought and sold on there.

[Huxleys Babkins]

I hovered over buying some/investing/whatever the correct term is way back with that story about that German guy that bought some for £2 or something and they were now (then) worth £2000 (can't remember the exact figures, just for illustrative purposes).  At that point they were still relatively affordable and I could've bought a couple of hundred pounds worth but, like others, didn't understand them and couldn't get my head around it.  It sounded way too much like a dodgy pyramid scheme in the digital world to me, so I didn't bother.  Naturally I regret it, but whatever.  Luckily I have shares in Tesco and First Group (goes to check values......)

I don't regret missing out because I would have probably panic sold at some point thinking I was cutting my losses and be regretting that even more.

[imitationleather]

I don't regret missing out because I would have probably panic sold at some point thinking I was cutting my losses and be regretting that even more.

Similarly, the main thing I regret is that I am not blessed with any patience or self-control whatsover.

[popcorn]

"This whole idea of being your own bank — let me put it this way: Do you make your own shoes?" he said. "The reason we have banks is that we don't want to deal with all those things that banks do."

Or just don't lose your password like a massive dickhead?

I don't think that's really fair - the argument he's making is that, by his example, banking with bitcoin is susceptible to user error at massive cost, therefore it's dangerous. People lose passwords all the time. Imagine if by banking at NatWest you could never regain entry to your account if you lost your card like a massive dickhead.

I'm more interested in how apt his analogy is. We don't make our own shoes but many of us do cook our own meals, so what makes banking more like shoes and less like meals?

[PlanktonSideburns]

James Howells: "When I went up to the landfill site yesterday my first thought was 'I've got not chance'"

squalid media

[Jerzy Bondov]

I used to piss myself laughing at the deluded goons on Something Awful buying up loads of bitcoin. Yes, this 'internet money' that only seems to be useful for buying drugs is going to make you rich. Stupid nerds, just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's good! Well, look who's had the last laugh now. Not me.

[idunnosomename]

imagine if he found it but it was full of child pornography and he went to prison!

[Replies From View]

imagine if he found it but it was full of child pornography and he went to prison!

It would be wondrous if someone got wind of the plan, managed to dig up the hard drive, stole all the bitcoins, planted some child porns on it and then reburied it all for old misery-guts woe-is-me-for-not-being-a-millionaire to find.


lol imagine his beaming face.  "Lads!  I've found it!"  pointing at the fucking hard drive in the rubbish.  And he insists on everyone being there, representatives from the radio times, a channel 4 documentary team and so on, when he boots it up for the first time, and he knows the password and is announcing "yep this is definitely my computer, nobody had the password except me, please write down that nobody used this computer except me!!" and then it's like WELCOME BACK HERPE HOWELLS; NOW REOPENING QUICKTIME CHILDPRONS WHERE YOU LEFT OFF.....

[Sebastian Cobb]

I don't think that's really fair - the argument he's making is that, by his example, banking with bitcoin is susceptible to user error at massive cost, therefore it's dangerous. People lose passwords all the time. Imagine if by banking at NatWest you could never regain entry to your account if you lost your card like a massive dickhead.

I'm more interested in how apt his analogy is. We don't make our own shoes but many of us do cook our own meals, so what makes banking more like shoes and less like meals?

That's why the advice is to store multiple copies of your wallet keys so you can get this stuff back. The general advice for the security conscious is to not store them digitally - actually print them out. Some wallets, like Exodus make this easier, by providing a 12 word recovery phrase that is a seed to the actual keys so it's easy to write down or remember.

[popcorn]

That's why the advice is to store multiple copies of your wallet keys so you can get this stuff back.

Yeah but people are bad at following advice. Again, It's Your Own Fault I Suppose, but a certain percentage of people are always going to be locked out of their money unless you have various failsafe systems like "proper" banks do.

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

Has anyone actually become rich via bitcoin? I feel like if you tried to cash out $200,000 or whatever, you'd find that you couldn't. Certainly $200,000,000

[Sebastian Cobb]

Has anyone actually become rich via bitcoin? I feel like if you tried to cash out $200,000 or whatever, you'd find that you couldn't. Certainly $200,000,000

I wonder if anyone's thought 'that's enough', cashed out then got hammered on capital gains tax.

[imitationleather]

I'm just not comfortable with the idea of anything good happening to a libertarian.