A wildfire raging through Southern California has destroyed an elderly Los Angeles woman's home and her entire savings in cryptocurrency, mostly Bitcoin.
The woman's sad story was shared by her nephew. According to him, the aunt wrote down the private key to the crypto wallet with bitcoins on a piece of paper that she kept in a desk drawer. She had no other backup copies, so the fire destroyed not only the house, but also the only way to access the digital assets.
My 70 year old aunt lost her home in the LA fires. Most of her savings were in cryptocurrency and she lost her wallet and seed phrase, and she has no backups. Yes, I know it's bad, but it is what it is. I'm in shock. This is all she had, - wrote a relative of a 70 year old woman.
The private key is the only way to access cryptocurrencies. If it is lost or destroyed, it is impossible to restore the data.
The Los Angeles woman's story has sparked a heated discussion on social media. Users have shared their own stories. One said he lost his bitcoins after accidentally throwing away a key written on a sticky note while moving. Another user recalled how his friend lost his private key, engraved on a metal plate, after a hurricane destroyed his house.
Cryptocurrency holders use different methods to store important information. Some get a tattoo with a seed phrase on their body or hide a note with the code in a bank safe. Some use special key storage services that break the information into several fragments and store them in different places. None of these options guarantee 100% data safety, so experts recommend having a backup copy of the secret code.
