Lost Millions

James Howells, a computer engineer from Wales, says he accidentally threw away a hard drive containing £230 million of Bitcoin. A hedgefund is paying to dig up and search the Newport rubbish tip where it is likely to be. In California, another computer programmer has just two chances left to recall the computer password to access $220 million worth of Bitcoin. One might expect computer geeks to be a little better at keeping tabs on their equipment and passwords than the rest of us, but alas, this is not the case. Nearly £400,000,000 lost. Cryptocurrencies strike me as no more safe and secure than a stash of twenties hidden under a mattress, or a mass of coppers in one of those old whiskey jars. Wealth is like Tolkien’s One Ring- it will always find a way to elude you and escape your grasp, while in the meantime, seeking to rule you. People are desperately searching through old binbags in Wales and racking brains in San Francisco in order to rediscover something they will inevitably lose anyway.

Remember, there are no rich people in hell, and no poor ones in heaven.

Those who trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him. (Psalm 49)

Image by Miloslav Hamřík from Pixabay