Categories: CryptoNews

Swiss Cryptocurrency Enthusiast Loses Hardware Wallet Containing $815,000

Over the years, there have been numerous incidents in which cryptocurrency enthusiasts lost access to their funds. Hacks, thefts, and throwing away a hard drive without a private key backup are all pretty common topics of conversation. In Switzerland, one enthusiast lost his shopping bag which contained his Ledger hardware wallet. That was a bad thing, as it seems highly unlikely this item will be returned to him.

Shopping With a Hardware Wallet Isn’t Always Smart

Bitcoin users need to take every single precaution when it comes to keeping their digital wealth safe from harm. Storing one’s funds in a hardware wallet

 rather than an exchange or web wallet is certainly a big step in the right direction. However, that hardware wallet will need to be kept safe at all times, which is a lot more difficult to achieve than some people might think.

One particular resident of Lucerne, Switzerland stores his Ledger hardware wallet in a bank vault all year long. Twice every year, he takes out the wallet to conduct some transactions. It makes a lot of sense to do so, but this time, something went seriously wrong. More specifically, he stored his Ledger Nano wallet in a shopping bag, which was somehow stolen from his car or left behind at one of the shops he visited on that day.

The end result remains the same, though, as his shopping bag is gone and the hardware wallet has disappeared along with it. No one knows where it has gone or when and if it will be returned to its rightful owner. A safe return seems highly unlikely at this point, although the person currently holding the bag may not even be aware of what the Ledger hardware wallet does exactly.

Related Post

Considering that the victim’s crypto portfolio is valued at 800,000 Swiss francs – or just under $815,000 – recovering the hardware wallet is of the utmost importance. The owner even promises a 40,000 Swiss franc bounty to whoever returns the hardware wallet to him in the coming days or weeks. The police are also looking out for the shopping bag and the wallet, although they do not expect to find them anytime soon.

One silver lining to this story is that only the owner of a Ledger Nano S can access the funds stored on the device. However, if they do not control the device, the funds become completely unspendable. It is possible that this was just a random theft not related to cryptocurrency, or perhaps the owner left the bag at one of the stores he’d visited without realizing it. There was also a KeepKey hardware wallet involved, and a notebook which was stored inside the bag as well.

For the time being, we’ll have to wait and see how this story unfolds. The loss of a cryptocurrency hardware wallet is a big problem, for obvious reasons. However, there is no immediate threat of the potential thief using this wallet for his or her own purposes without knowing the PIN code or recovery seed associated with the device. It seems that information is kept safe in some location, although it won’t do the original device owner much good without the wallet itself.

JP Buntinx

JP Buntinx is a FinTech and Bitcoin enthusiast living in Belgium. His passion for finance and technology made him one of the world's leading freelance Bitcoin writers, and he aims to achieve the same level of respect in the FinTech sector.

Share
Published by
JP Buntinx

Recent Posts

Best Altcoins to Invest in Today: Qubetics Sets the Stage for Blockchain’s Future as Bitcoin Hits $108K and Litecoin Soars

The cryptocurrency world has always been a hotbed of innovation, attracting both seasoned investors and…

8 hours ago

Dogecoin Millionaire Predicts This Undervalued Altcoin Could Match DOGE’s 2021 Gains

Dogecoin's 2021 rally was a historic one, turning ordinary investors into overnight millionaires. This magnificent…

9 hours ago

Qubetics Presale Skyrockets to $7.5M as XRP and Arbitrum Lead Best Altcoins for Exponential Returns

The crypto market is always evolving, with big names like Bitcoin and Ethereum leading the…

10 hours ago

Over 300K Users Actively Mine Crypto On BlockDAG’s X1 Miner App While BNB Bulls Eye $3K; What’s XRP’s Price Target?

The crypto market is ablaze with excitement as altcoins like XRP and BNB make major…

10 hours ago

Best Crypto Presale To Buy Now: Rollblock Delivers For Holders With New License, Record Sign Ups and 7000+ Games

Rollblock is quickly becoming the best crypto presale to buy, delivering unmatched value for its…

13 hours ago

Polkadot And Uniswap Gearing For Post-Christmas Jump As Rollblock Raises $7.4 Million in Presale

While Rollblock's continues its crypto presale, with its value increasing regularly, Polkadot (DOT) and Uniswap…

14 hours ago