crypto wallet

Vitalik Buterin calls for wallet solutions to address crypto loss, not just theft

Published

2 months ago

February 28, 2025

According to Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin, while theft is often discussed in crypto security, many people also lose significant amounts of crypto due to negligence and accidents, and wallet solutions must address these risks as well.

In his recent post on X, Vitalik Buterin brought the crypto community’s attention to the fact that many people lose their crypto through actual loss (due to forgotten passwords, software bugs, or lost devices) rather than theft. While conversations about crypto fraud have been rife, particularly in the wake of the $1.5 billion theft from Bybit (although the exchange fully covered the loss through loans, whale deposits, and Ether purchases), Buterin emphasized that actual crypto loss is overlooked in discussions of crypto security. He added that robust wallet security solutions should account for all forms of loss, not just hacking.

Reminder: there’s also plenty of people who have lost huge amounts of crypto to *loss* rather than theft.
Software bug, forgotten password, lost device, paper wallet burned down in LA fire, upgraded device without backing up data …. lots of ways for that to happen.
Because…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 28, 2025

One of the most notable and tragic examples of crypto loss is the case of James Howells, whose hard drive containing 8000 Bitcoin (BTC), now worth hundreds of millions of pounds, was accidentally discarded by his ex-partner in 2013. The hard drive presumably ended up at a landfill site owned by Newport City Council. Despite taking legal action, Howells failed to recover the device. Now, with the landfill site closing in the next two years, Howells is weighing his options: he may either pursue a case at the Court of Appeal or attempt to buy the site with the help of investors. For Howells, retrieving his digital wallet has become his life’s mission. “This battle is my 9 to 5 – I won’t stop until I have my £620m of Bitcoin back,” said Howell.

Howells’ situation is an extreme case but it underscores a larger issue. Losing crypto because of negligence or accidents is far from uncommon. According to the 2020 report by Chainalysis, approximately 20% of Bitcoin mined at the time was considered “lost” because it had been trapped in wallets that had seen no movement in years (more recent statistics are not readily available).

That being said, there’re rare instances of recovery. One such example involves Stefan Thomas, who spent 11 years unable to access his IronKey hard drive, which contained 7002 BTC, after forgetting the password. However, he was able to recover it with the help of hacker Joe Grand and security researcher Bruno Requião da Cunha, who developed a novel approach to crack the password by analyzing the software used to generate it.

Despite occasional success stories, the reality is that crypto recovery is difficult. As Vitalik pointed out, the industry must not only focus on preventing hacks but also ensure that users can recover their crypto in the event of loss due to accidents or human error.

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crypto wallet

Cardano wallet Lace adds Bitcoin support

Published

1 month ago

March 20, 2025

admin

Lace, a web3 non-custodial wallet developed by Input Output, is now multichain, with initial support including Bitcoin.

Input Output, an infrastructure and web3 research platform founded in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson and Jeremy Wood, announced the development via a press release on Mar. 20. Hoskinson is the founder of Cardano (ADA), one of the top cryptocurrency and blockchain projects.

According to IO, the Lace wallet’s non-custodial solution is now officially multichain. The launch expands the wallet’s support beyond Cardano, with initial support for Bitcoin (BTC).

“The future of blockchain is multichain, and with Lace, we’re making sure users have everything they need in one powerful, easy-to-use wallet. Building on the foundations we have established with Cardano, we identified Bitcoin as the logical next step. And we’re just getting started,” Brandon Wolf, general manager at Lace, said.

Lace now allows its users to store, manage, and transfer BTC.

According to IO, the integration of BTC is a milestone that brings web3 closer to reality.

This is because the support does not only help accelerate adoption for Bitcoin—it also boosts the broader ecosystem. As the top blockchain network sees increased traction across decentralized finance and smart contracts, several layer-2 solutions built on top of it are gaining further adoption.

“Bitcoin was the starting point for many people’s Web3 journey, and now we are witnessing its next evolution with the rise of Bitcoin DeFi. With Bitcoin integration now live, Lace is creating a seamless, intuitive gateway to maximise the best of blockchain innovation” Hoskinson said.

The integration provides an “intuitive gateway” that will help maximize blockchain innovation and add to the growth of DeFi, the Cardano founder added.

Other than DeFi, Lace’s web3 traction includes non-fungible tokens and multi-chain asset management.

Bitcoin continues to attract attention for its potential, with zero-knowledge powered platform BitcoinOS among those to champion its integration with crypto.

The project’s open-sourcing of its BitSNARK v0.2 unlocks unlimited BTC programmability, the protocol’s team posted on X. BitcoinOS’ code allows anyone to verify ZK proofs on Bitcoin.

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crime

French Authorities Rescue Ledger Co-Founder and His Wife After Both Were Kidnapped for Crypto Ransom: Report

Published

3 months ago

January 25, 2025

admin

French authorities have reportedly rescued the co-founder of hardware wallet firm Ledger and his wife after they were kidnapped and held for ransom.

According to a new article by The New York Times, Dave Balland and his wife were abducted from their home in France earlier this week by bad actors who then contacted another founder of the company and demanded a large amount of crypto for their release.

The report says that Balland was found and released by police on Wednesday about 30 miles away from his home while his wife was found 80 miles away tied up in a car a day later.

His wife was unharmed but Balland had to be hospitalized due to his hand being mutilated by the kidnappers – a photo of which was used to pressure Ledger into paying the ransom.

In the report, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that during the negotiations, some of the ransom was paid but that the assets were tracked, frozen and seized.

As stated by Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier on the social media platform X,

“We are deeply relieved that David and his wife have been released, and are now safe. I have reached out to David, and our thoughts continue to be with him, his family, and the members of our team that worked with David while he was at Ledger. We’re grateful to law enforcement for their swift action. Our top priority was always to allow law enforcement to do their jobs and protect the integrity of the investigation.”

Nine men and one woman, aged between 20 and 40, were arrested and questioned about the kidnapping, though no other details about the suspects were released. In the report, Beccaua says that the crimes of kidnapping, torture and armed extortion carry potential life sentences.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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Bitcoin

Ancient Bitcoin Whale Dormant for 11 Years Suddenly Transfers $257,450,000 in BTC: On-Chain Data

Published

5 months ago

December 5, 2024

admin

An ancient Bitcoin wallet suddenly sprung to life this week and moved more than $257 million worth of BTC after 11 years of slumber.

The crypto tracker Lookonchain first spotted the unknown address, which moved 2,700 BTC to another wallet on Tuesday.

The long-dormant wallet received the trove of BTC in December 2013, when the top crypto asset only cost $625.84. BTC was priced at $95,361 at the time of Tuesday’s transfer, meaning the USD value of the wallet’s holdings skyrocketed by a staggering 15,137.4% in 11 years.

Data from BitInfoCharts indicates the long-dormant wallet did receive trace amounts of Bitcoin a handful of times over the last 11 years, though those transactions appear to be the result of dusting attacks.

Dusting attacks involve hackers and scammers sending minuscule amounts of cryptocurrency (dust) to numerous personal wallets in an attempt to break the wallet holders’ privacy.

The scammers then try to trace the transactional activity of targeted wallets in order to identify the people or companies behind them.

Bitcoin is trading at $98,687 at time of writing. The top-ranked crypto asset by market cap is up more than 3% in the past 24 hours and is less than 1% down from its all-time high of $99,645, which it set on November 22nd.

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