Bitcoin Halloween: Stories of Loss and Deception
On Halloween and the anniversary of the #bitcoin☀️ whitepaper, Cointelegraph presents six spine-chilling crypto mysteries perfect for sharing around the campfire. The crypto world is filled with tales of disappearance and fraud, from millions lost on hard drives to founders who vanished.
These eerie stories reveal the hidden risks of Bitcoin and #Cryptocurrencies and the lengths people will go to recover their elusive fortunes.
The Lost Bitcoin on the Landfill and James Howells
In the depths of a landfill in Newport, UK, lies a "ghost" of Bitcoin, haunting the piles of trash for over a decade. In 2013, IT technician James Howells mistakenly threw away a hard drive containing 8,000 BTC. At the time, it was worth around $1 million; today, it's valued at more than half a billion dollars.
Howells has planned numerous “expeditions” to reclaim his lost digital fortune, but each attempt has been thwarted by the local council. The landfill, buried under thousands of tons of waste, has become the grave for Howells’ Bitcoin treasure, now worth a fortune but still out of reach. Howells is currently suing the city of Newport for more than £495 million ($643 million), with a decision expected on December 3 on whether he will be allowed to embark on his "Bitcoin ghost hunt."
The Zombie Bitcoin That Won’t Die: Chilling Tales of Lost Digital Wealth
Each lost Bitcoin carries its own story—forgotten passwords, damaged wallets, or cryptographic secrets taken to the grave. Glassnode estimates that around 1.5 million BTC is likely lost forever.
However, some of these forgotten tokens occasionally “wake up.” Old coins dormant for more than a decade are reintroduced to the market, giving patient investors a profitable return. Yet, the majority of these coins will remain inactive forever. Bitcoin enthusiasts sometimes check Satoshi Nakamoto’s dormant wallets, holding over 1 million BTC, to see if they show any signs of movement. As Satoshi once said, “Lost coins only make everyone else's coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone.”
USDT in Chains: Tether's Shadowy Whispers
With USDT Tether's growing popularity, its market capitalization now exceeds $120 billion, sparking chilling rumors of unrecorded reserves and suspicious transactions.
Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. federal authorities are investigating Tether for alleged money laundering by third parties. Tether's CEO Paolo Ardoino dismissed the report as “old noise,” but fears linger. A collapse of Tether could cause the entire market to plummet, and the idea of reliving such a nightmare hangs ominously over the industry.
The Disappearance of QuadrigaCX's Founder
As CEO of Canada’s crypto exchange QuadrigaCX, Gerald Cotten managed millions in digital assets. In December 2018, however, he suddenly died, losing access to over $190 million worth of cryptocurrencies.
Cotten’s death remains a mystery. Reportedly, he succumbed to complications from Crohn’s disease while visiting India, where he planned to open an orphanage. However, after his death, it emerged that Cotten was the sole manager of QuadrigaCX’s assets, and further investigations revealed suspicious transactions. Some speculate that Cotten faked his own death and absconded with the funds.
The Vanishing Crypto Queen Ruja Ignatova
Ruja Ignatova, also known as the "Crypto Queen," founded OneCoin, which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. Ignatova disappeared in 2017, just as investigations into her company intensified worldwide.
OneCoin promised huge returns but lacked a genuine blockchain. Ignatova accumulated around $4 billion and has been missing ever since. In 2022, she was added to the FBI’s top ten most wanted list, but her fate remains unknown.
Crypto Exchanges in the Dark
In cryptocurrency trading, fortunes can be made or lost in an instant. But beyond market volatility, traders also face the unsettling risk of sudden exchange outages.
For example, in 2018, a two-hour upgrade on the Kraken exchange turned into a 48-hour outage. In March 2021, Binance faced a surge in trading activity that caused the platform to crash, leaving trades in limbo. Such incidents can quickly turn a trader’s luck—transforming potential gains into losses in the blink of an eye.
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