He mined Bitcoin when its price was less than $0.05.
He owned a wallet containing 25,000 Bitcoins.
The tragic story of a person named ALLINVAIN and how he lost $1.6 billion in one of the biggest thefts in the history of digital currencies.
In 2010, ALLINVAIN started one of the first Bitcoin exchange platforms.
Bitcoin Express allowed users to buy Bitcoin using PayPal.
He was selling 1,000 Bitcoins for $5 (0.005 dollars per Bitcoin).
But ALLINVAIN was also mining Bitcoin.
Armed with just his laptop, he was mining blocks giving 50 Bitcoins every hour.
That meant 1,200 Bitcoins daily.
This was the software used to mine Bitcoin when its price was $10.
He was mining Bitcoin with just one click.
By 2011, mining difficulty had increased significantly.
He said, 'It seems like everyone started mining, mothers, fathers, uncles, even their dogs.
'The hash rate rose to 4 TH/s.
In 2010, it was only 0.001%, an increase of 114,000%.
But the more he studied Bitcoin, the more amazed he became.
ALLINVAIN wanted to help grow the Bitcoin economy.
He started buying and selling real goods for Bitcoin.
Soon, ALLINVAIN became a Bitcoin whale with ownership of over 25,000 Bitcoins.He welcomed the price surge in early 2011, when it peaked at a high of $30.
That was the first Bitcoin bubble.
He had the equivalent of $500,000 in the magical internet currency.
On June 13, 2011, disaster struck.
He saw a transaction of 25,000 Bitcoins leaving his wallet.
In this way, all his Bitcoins disappeared.
ALLINVAIN was emotionally destroyed.He collapsed into a state of depression.
All his efforts to support Bitcoin seemed to have been for nothing.
Even worse, the news became global.They dubbed it the first Bitcoin theft.
The theft was so significant that it sparked conspiracy theories.
Some said that ALLINVAIN orchestrated the whole thing.
They claimed he was spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
ALLINVAIN says : 'it was his mistake'.
Poor security practices.
He said, 'It was foolish of me to trust my security to this extent'.
ALLINVAIN made a backup of his wallet on Dropbox, Wuala, and SpiderOak.
He later deleted it after discovering that Dropbox employees could access the files.
However, the real issue is that someone hacked into his computer and stole the unencrypted wallet file.
He later discovered that it might have been a Trojan virus.
A virus disguised as a Bitcoin mining program...
Another reminder that when holding Bitcoin, personal security is crucial.
He remained active in the Bitcoin industry and started his own mining pool.
He made every effort to rebuild his wallet.
ALLINVAIN's biggest mistake was keeping his unencrypted keys on his computer.
His hack serves as a reminder to always keep your private keys written down in a secure, offline location.
Even some of the biggest names in Bitcoin have suffered similar hacks.
A good reminder to all of us!
Yes it is, Always read it.
I like how he didn't blame anyone but himself and learned from his mistakes.
Right, that's the wisdom
Thank you for sharing, a tragic story that reminds us how important it is to keep our passwords in a safe place offline.
You're welcome 🤗☕
That's a very sad story!
Yes very sad
but meaningful
It is something incredible, imagine what that miner was going to think that Bitcoin would give that rise and that it would cost what it currently costs.
It wouldn't be sensible now haha.
A great reminder to all. Remember we are still all very early here!
Yes, towards a brilliant future 🤗
This story has made the rounds before, but you added more context and value here to it. Cheers.
Is it something beautiful or what?
It's only tragic, if it's true! I've never come across this so far. However, allinvain can't blame anyone except himself for the theft.
Yes everyone learns from their mistakes
great photo timeline
great coverage
thanks for sharing
Thanks fren
Thank you for the sad but historical story. You are awesome