The security of the crypto wallet is SAFE when the user is educated

Peter Schiff posted on Twitter last week that he had lost access to the 0.2 BTC he had received as a gift. He claimed that the used Blockchain wallet “was corrupted and no longer recognizes the password.”

I just lost all the #Bitcoin I have ever owned. My wallet got corrupted somehow and my password is no longer valid. So now not only is my Bitcoin intrinsically worthless; it has no market value either. I knew owning Bitcoin was a bad idea, I just never realized it was this bad! pic.twitter.com/6SJvDJOZU6

– Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) January 19, 2020

His message went viral quickly, with many members of the crypto community giving advice or joking on his behalf.

Most commenters have pointed out that Bitcoin can be recovered using the private key or the security phrase.

The security of the crypto wallet is up to you!

After a few days, the mystery of the “corrupt wallet” was solved. Schiff acknowledged that he did not remember the correct password, mistaking it for the phone’s PIN. Also, he did not write down his security phrase, which means that the BTC held cannot be recovered.

My #Bitcoin mystery is solved. I mistook my pin for my password. When Blockchain updated their app I got logged out. I tired logging back in using my pin, which was the only “password” I had ever known or used. I also never had a copy of my seed sentence. Honest but costly mistake!

– Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) January 23, 2020

Schiff claimed that the wallet was set by Erik Voorhes, who first donated Bitcoin to him. Apparently, Erik did not disclose his password or security phrase, making it impossible for him to recover his funds.

If Schiff’s adventure in the cryptocurrency world is a lesson, Justin Sun summarized it:

“Crypto is like freedom. Freedom is never free. With freedom comes responsibility. The responsibility to remember your private key! ”

The security of the crypto wallet is up to the user and no entity can recover the funds if the private key is lost. Bitcoin cannot be stolen or “corrupted” instead it can be lost due to failure.