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After Losing Coins, Bitcoin Core Dev Starts to Doubt Self-Custody

One of Bitcoin’s most prolific developers believes the currency lacks reliable storage options.

After his personal wallet was emptied of almost $4 million in bitcoin last month, Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr is concerned about the security of Bitcoin’s existing storage solutions.

The programmer indicated that his method of storing his coins exceeded “normal procedures,” but he was nonetheless robbed successfully.

On Monday, Dashjr responded on Twitter to a fellow Bitcoiner who wondered how others would spend $30 million if they woke up one day with $30 million in their bank account.

Some of Bitcoin’s most ardent supporters, such MicroStrategy’s executive chairman Michael Saylor, may advocate for a 100% Bitcoin allocation. Dashjr, on the other hand, argued for a (relatively) moderate approach: “Maybe 1000 BTC or so, assuming I could find a means to keep it secure,” he said, mentioning real estate as a potentially safer alternative.

Dashjr lost his whole cache of over 200 BTC on December 31st to a hacker who, according to the developer, compromised his PGP (pretty good privacy) key. A PGP key is a cryptographic privacy and authentication programme for sensitive files such as a Bitcoin private key.

A private key is a digital signature necessary to send a Bitcoin transaction from the wallet to which it is linked. Most experts propose storing one’s personal keys in “cold storage,” which is completely unconnected from the internet, as a failsafe method of safeguarding one’s Bitcoin.

Dashjr, on the other hand, suggested otherwise.

“Standard practises are clearly insecure,” he explained. “My security was way above industry standards, and I was still hacked.”

The developer says that the addresses used to steal his Bitcoin were actually cold storage addresses. He is unsure whether utilising a ColdCard, a trusted hardware wallet, would have safeguarded his assets.

Dashjr is still unclear of how his assets were stolen, or has not publicly shared such information.

Adam Back, one of Bitcoin’s early contributors who worked with Satoshi Nakamoto, believes Dashjr was targeted and his devices compromised over his home network.

Others were harsher on Dashjr, with Bitcoiners like Holdonaut accusing him of spreading misconceptions about how easy it is to safeguard Bitcoin.

“I’m just having a big problem with him suggesting it’s not possible to hold bitcoin securely,” he tweeted. “The seed phrase on paper/metal is unconcerned about the hacked home network.”

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