???????

All crypto wallets I have ever seen will create a 12 or 24 word passphrase that alone, all by itself, is sufficient to enable access to one's bitcoin funds. When one creates a wallet, those words can be recorded in handwritten form and/or memorized. If Peter or his assistant who did that for him failed to take that very simple precautionary step, among others available, then that's his own damn fault, and Peter should not be doing anything with crypto in the future.

That Peter failed to realize this tells me he was never serious about crypto. His statement that he "knew crypto was a bad idea" is the real reason why this happened to him. He didn't take it seriously.

It says his password was no longer valid, implying that he did not lose it.

Bitcoin is definitely not for me.

It says his password was no longer valid, implying that he did not lose it.

That would be the single password to get into his wallet, not the 12/24 word key for completely recreating his wallet from scratch. The 12/24 word actually IS the wallet itself.

It seems his hard disk got corrupted somehow, but with the 12/24 key phrase, the PC could fall into a black hole and he could still recreate the wallet.

Yeah, it's just that damned near every (reputable) site that requires a login has a "forgot password" link, and as long as a current email address was set up, a new temp password is sent. Or similar with cell phone #/text/security code.

I'm having trouble with the idea that Peter Schiff is too stupid to have set any of this up prior to investing in bit-coin.

He may have suffered from blood-loss to his big head when his little head became overly excited in a spike in the price of gold.

I could be wrong, he may have been just that stupid.

Yeah, it's just that damned near every (reputable) site that requires a login has a "forgot password" link, and as long as a current email address was set up, a new temp password is sent. Or similar with cell phone #/text/security code.

No, it doesn't work like that. No outside website knows how to access your bitcoin.

Think of it this way. All bitcoin ever created is on the internet, locked in a series of safes. When you create a wallet, you create a safe on the internet, and only you have the key to the safe. That key can be accurately and precisely represented and reproduced by a 12 or 24 word "seed" phase (12 or 24 words depending on the wallet brand) which is given to you when you create the wallet. Basically, each seemingly random word represents a number, and strung together it defines your key. (If this key were your house key, it would probably have to be several yards long).

So if your house burns down and you lose all your computers, your bitcoin is safe as long as you know your 12/24 word seed phrase. There is no web site password. You just need to get a new computer, install the same wallet software, tell it you want to restore an existing wallet, give it the seed words, and you have reproduced an electronic version of you key to your bitcoin funds.

I'm having trouble with the idea that Peter Schiff is too stupid to have set any of this up prior to investing in bit-coin.

No, he's not stupid. Of course not. BUT he did give himself away in his statement where he said:

“I knew owning Bitcoin was a bad idea, I just never realized it was this bad!”

That tells me he didn't really want it to work for him. He bought bitcoin because he was dragged kicking and screaming to the crypto party. If he instead saw it's potential like I do, he would have put the time and effort into learning all about it, and that would have included the very basic security measures of ensuring he could rebuild his wallet in case of a computer crash. As it was, he had someone do it for him and presumably told him what he needed to know and his attitude was like "yeah, okay, whatever". He had the tiny password to open up his wallet -- the one that doesn't work anymore -- but he doesn't have the seed phrase.

When people are not enthusiastic about something, they only put in a half-hearted effort. I'm that way, you're that way, Peter Schiff is that way too. We all are.

When people are not enthusiastic about something, they only put in a half-hearted effort. I'm that way, you're that way, Peter Schiff is that way too. We all are.

Truth.

That tells me he didn't really want it to work for him.

I definitely see your point there. Thanks for the info.