In the context of billions of USD being stolen from hacks, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has called for a 'truly robust' wallet security solution to prevent losses due to negligence – an issue that is underestimated in the crypto industry.

Loss of money is not just due to hackers

Recently, over 1.4 billion USD was stolen from the Bybit exchange, making crypto security a hot topic. However, #Buterin argues that the community is too focused on hackers while neglecting personal error cases such as:

  • Forgotten passwords, lost devices, not backing up data.

  • Paper wallets burned in a fire.

  • Updated devices but did not save the private keys.

Buterin emphasizes that many victims are too ashamed to speak out, as they can only blame themselves. But without a solution, these cases will continue to occur.

Buterin's 'Social Recovery' solution

Since 2021, Buterin has proposed a 'social recovery' mechanism, allowing users to recover their wallets if they lose access. Accordingly, they can choose 'guardians' such as:

  • Friends, family: Keep part of the recovery information.

  • Backup devices: Paper wallets, USB backup.

  • Reputable organizations: Banks or trusted crypto platforms.

Buterin himself stores most of his assets in a multisig Safe wallet, helping to spread the risk of loss.

Unfortunate 'wipe-out' stories

Losses due to negligence are not uncommon. Many investors have suffered significant losses, such as:

  • 1.6 million BTC (worth tens of billions of USD) have been permanently lost, according to estimates from Bitcoin exchange River.

  • James Howells, who accidentally threw away a hard drive containing 8,000 BTC in 2013, is still searching for it in a landfill in Wales.

  • A Brazilian YouTuber was so stressed that he had to be hospitalized after losing access to a hardware wallet containing hundreds of thousands of USD $BTC .

  • Investor Kevin Rose lost his home in a California wildfire and could not access his Trezor wallet.

  • Peter Schiff, the famous Bitcoin skeptic, lost all his BTC simply because he did not write down his seed phrase.

Lessons and future direction

These incidents show that wallet security is not just about preventing hackers but also protecting users from themselves.

With Buterin's call, the crypto industry may soon develop smarter wallets that integrate social recovery, helping to minimize the risk of permanent asset loss.

The question is: Are we ready to change the way we protect crypto assets, or will we continue to witness unfortunate money losses? #anhbacong