583: Bitcoin Security with Jameson Lopp

I've been talking about Bitcoin since 2017. I was early, especially for my age group. A lot of things attracted me to it. Part of it was the digital gold thesis. I thought that made sense, and in many ways, it still does. But one of the things that makes Bitcoin unique is that there's no CEO, no bank, no third party. And that's also what makes it risky. With a bank, there's FDIC insurance, fraud investigations, sometimes reversals. With Bitcoin, that's gone by design. And for years I bought into "not your keys, not your coins." But here's what I've learned the hardest possible way. I was hacked, and everything in my cold wallet is gone. I don't know exactly how it happened, and I can't go into detail because I've reported it to the FBI. Even after almost two months, I haven't heard back. Over half my net worth disappeared. I'm embarrassed because I considered myself savvy. I watched phishing attempts, scams, and reports of wallet security failures, and I still thought I was careful enough. I wasn't. If you're someone who followed me early and you're sitting on life-changing gains, don't assume a single wallet will save you. I now believe having millions in a wallet you alone control is too risky. If I could do it over, I probably would have diversified custody, maybe even accepted some third-party risk with a regulated custodian. That's why today's conversation matters. We're talking about Bitcoin security with Jameson Lopp, co-founder and Chief Security Officer of Casa, because if self-custody is still part of your plan, you need to understand the trade-offs. We'll also discuss the emerging quantum-computing threat and what Bitcoin holders should understand about preparing for it. Because losing money on a bad investment is one thing. Losing money on an investment you got right, simply because you failed to protect it, is something else entirely. With that, here's my conversation with Jameson Lopp.