A year ago, stories about cryptocurrency were featured in every news broadcast and article following the fall of FTX and investors losing trillions of dollars. Today, there’s barely a mention which begs the question, are people still using crypt? Yes, the digital currency continues to be used by millions of people worldwide for online shopping, to send money overseas, purchase real estate, etc. But regardless of its various uses, cryptocurrency is considered a risky investment because it is not backed by a government or central bank and account balances are stored in digital wallets.
Speaking of digital wallets, in 2021 Stefan Thomas had the equivalent of $220 million U.S. stored in his digital wallet that he could not access because he couldn’t remember the password. A team of hackers known as Unciphered reached out to Thomas after developing an IronKey password-cracking technique in 2023 and offered to help him gain access to his money but were turned down. At the time, Thomas told the team he had entered a hand-shake deal with other hackers who were working on a solution. To this date, there is no record of him gaining access to his millions. The moral of the story is that while investing involves some level of risk, risk mitigation is an important investment strategy.
Alloy Investment Management advises clients on investments that reflect their risk tolerance, time horizon, and goals. If you have questions about investing principles and strategies, or retirement investing and distribution strategies, contact Alloy Investment Management at 800-689-3935.