Tips for crypto newbies, vets and skeptics from a Bitcoiner who buried $700M

James Howells, who accidentally threw away a hard drive with 8,000 Bitcoin, has given his advice for industry newcomers, veterans, and skeptics in 2026.

Newcomers are diving into crypto without learning what it is, veterans are watching their profits soar without spurring adoption and skeptics are judging crypto with little information, says OG Bitcoiner James Howells.

Howells is famous for fighting in court to recover a hard drive from a landfill that contained 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $700 million. While he didn’t succeed, he told Cointelegraph that he didn’t let the loss define him and shared his tips and 2026 resolutions for newcomers, veterans and skeptics.

Finally, Howells noted that much of the recycled criticism comes from financial institutions and nation-states that are quietly building blockchain infrastructure for custody, trading, and settlement behind the scenes.

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