Last week, an early Bitcoin adopter made headlines after transferring 100 $BTC—worth approximately $10 million—from a rare Casascius gold bar to other digital wallets. The move was prompted by concerns over the risks of storing such a large sum in a single physical asset. For those unfamiliar, Casascius Bitcoins are physical metal coins and bars created by Mike Caldwell in the early days of Bitcoin. Each piece contains a private key, hidden beneath a tamper-evident hologram, that unlocks the corresponding amount of $BTC stored in a digital wallet. In addition to their face-value in Bitcoin, these items often carry collectible premiums due to their historical significance and limited supply. Caldwell ceased production in November 2013 after the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) required him to register as a money transmitter. Of the nearly 28,000 Casascius coins and bars minted, around 10,000 have already been "peeled"—i.e., the private key revealed and funds moved. Only 35 of the 100-BTC bars remain intact.

Unfortunately, the owner of the bar posted his private key on an online forum forgetting that their private key also entitled them to claim Bitcoin Cash and $BSV tokens created by hardforks after the original coin was minted. Together, those tokens were worth over $50,000—and were promptly swept from the compromised wallet. Despite the mishap, the loss likely stung less given the magnitude of the original return: a $500 investment turned into $10 million.