Samson Mow, CEO of JAN3, raises concerns about the security of cold Bitcoin storage and emphasizes the importance of safeguarding private keys.
Samson Mow, CEO of JAN3 and a vocal Bitcoin advocate, has raised concerns about the safety of even cold storage solutions for Bitcoin, urging holders to take extra precautions.
Meanwhile, Wrapped Bitcoin is undergoing a significant shift as BitGo plans to transfer its custodial responsibilities to a joint venture with BiT Global, leading to questions about the future of the asset and the role of Justin Sun in its ecosystem.
Samson Mow Warns on Cold Bitcoin Storage: Not Cold Enough?
In a stark warning to the cryptocurrency community, Samson Mow, a prominent Bitcoin advocate and the CEO of JAN3, has raised concerns about the security of Bitcoin stored in cold wallets.
Mow, whose company specializes in helping nation-states adopt Bitcoin (BTC), recently took to social media to highlight the potential vulnerabilities in even the most secure forms of Bitcoin storage.
Cold storage, a method of storing cryptocurrency offline to protect it from online threats such as hacking, has long been considered one of the safest ways to hold Bitcoin.
However, Mow believes that even cold storage might not be secure enough if the Bitcoin holder can easily access their private keys.
In an X post that has since sparked widespread discussion, Mow emphasized the importance of ensuring that Bitcoin stored in cold wallets is difficult to access—even for the owner.
Don’t keep #Bitcoin key material in your home. It should be difficult even for yourself to move your coins that are in cold storage.
Read that again.
If you can access your cold storage easily it’s not cold enough.pic.twitter.com/HXuk0PO6xZ
— Samson Mow (@Excellion) August 10, 2024
He argued that private keys, which are the cryptographic keys required to access and manage a Bitcoin wallet, should not be stored at home, where they might be vulnerable to theft or coercion.
To illustrate his point, Mow shared a video showing three thieves struggling to move a large safe from a house.
The safe, which they were unable to open, was eventually taken away by the criminals. Mow used this example to drive home his message: “It should be difficult even for yourself to move your coins that are in cold storage.”
The JAN3 CEO’s remarks come at a time when the security of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is increasingly under scrutiny.
As the value of Bitcoin continues to rise, so too does the incentive for criminals to find new ways to steal it.
Mow’s concerns about Bitcoin storage come against the backdrop of his bullish predictions for the cryptocurrency’s future.
The Bitcoin advocate has long been vocal about his belief that the world’s leading digital currency is on a trajectory toward a $1 million price mark.
In recent tweets, Mow has suggested that this milestone could be reached within the next year, driven by significant investments from major corporations or financial giants.
Mow hinted at the possibility of an “Omega candle,” a term used in the cryptocurrency community to describe a sudden, massive price surge.
He suggested that such a surge could be triggered by a tech giant like Apple or a financial powerhouse like Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway making a significant investment in Bitcoin.
While these predictions may seem optimistic, they reflect Mow’s deep conviction in Bitcoin’s potential to reshape the global financial system.
However, with great value comes great risk, and Mow’s warnings about secure storage highlight the need for Bitcoin holders to take their security measures seriously as the cryptocurrency’s value climbs.
