Alright, listen up, because it's story time here! Back in 2011, I discovered bitcoin by simply google'ing "free money online" -- I was a broke college student, bored, and looking for some easy extra cash. Though I was employed, I just wanted to create some off-hour earnings. Serendipitously, my search directed me toward the infamous bitcoin white paper. I read it, not quite understanding the implications of what I had just read. I remember thinking, "electronic money, wow that sounds great. How do I get some?"

Enter the rabbit hole of bitcoin mining. Back then, things were much different. The amount of computing power required to effectively mined was a tiny fraction of what it takes today. Let's just say that I mined using nothing more than an Apple Macbook. You read that right: back in the day, all you needed was a laptop or PC to effectively mine bitcoin. 

Here's a screenie of a post from the Bitcoin Talk forums when I was troubleshooting a Diablo Miner setup:

So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. But, in all seriousness, and getting back to the point of this "article" -- my legacy wallet succumbed to the the fate of many legacy wallets. The keys were lost. The laptop, long gone and forgotten. Thrown away in a dumpster. Hard drive containing the wallet.dat file never to be seen again. It's most likely in a landfill somewhere. While my fortune wasn't as large as the likes of the bloke James Howells, my coins are forever lost. You're welcome for the donation!

What's the lesson here? Obviously, SECURE YOUR FUCKING KEYS. The younger me did not have the foresight. You see, back then bitcoin traded between $4 and $9. It wasn't mainstream like it is today. 

Why do I still keep an eye on my legacy address? Just checking up on things. I know that those coins are, undoubtedly, lost forever. But I check the wallet balance periodically because if those coins were ever to move, there would be a serious problem with bitcoin's signature algorigthm, ECDSA. It would mean that quantum computing has evolved to the point where balances from legacy wallets could be drained. At that point, I would question the security of the bitcoin network. So checking up on my old wallet is sort of a "reality check." Today, it remains secure.

What say you? Do you have a "lost bitcoin" story? Post it in the comments below!

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