Julian Figueroa, host of The Exit Manual, has experienced first-hand the cost of Bitcoin security mistakes.

Over the past eight years, he lost a total of 14 BTC—now worth roughly $1.6 million—and believes most Bitcoiners are at risk of making the same errors.

Trading losses and market timing failures

Figueroa’s regrets began with attempts to trade the market:

“I lost 4 BTC just because I thought I’d buy low and sell high. Turns out, it’s nearly impossible—nobody beats the market over time, not pros, not hedge funds, nobody. If you just buy and hold, you almost always outperform the traders.”

He points out that emotional decisions and the pursuit of quick gains often lead to losses, with even experienced traders falling victim to volatility.

The altcoin distraction

Figueroa also lost 2 BTC by chasing altcoin hype:

“I bought coins I thought would outperform Bitcoin. They didn’t.”

He warns that most alternatives underperform Bitcoin in the long run. His lesson: focus on Bitcoin fundamentals and avoid distractions from speculative assets.

Exchange failures and the case for self-custody

The most costly mistake came from leaving coins on a centralized exchange:

“8 BTC—nearly $1 million—vanished when an exchange failed.”

Figueroa stresses that relying on custodians is a common but dangerous error:

“Crypto exchanges are not banks, they’re casinos. Self-custody is the only real security.”

Cautionary tales and takeaways

Figueroa’s story is not unique.

He cites examples like James Howells, who lost a hard drive with 8,000 BTC, and Stefan Thomas, who cannot access 7,002 BTC due to a lost password.

The Mt. Gox collapse and QuadrigaCX’s founder dying with the keys to $200 million further emphasize the risks of poor security practices.

His advice: avoid day trading, ignore altcoin hype, and most importantly, secure your Bitcoin by learning self-custody.