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One of the world\u2019s most popular pianists on YouTube has apparently been hospitalized after losing access to a Bitcoin stash worth over 2 million reais (over $366,000).<\/p>\n
The story has been big news in Brazil, where the classical pianist, a Brazilian known as Lord Vinheteiro (his real name is Fabr\u00edcio Andr\u00e9 Bernard Di Paolo), has over 7 million YouTube subscribers.<\/p>\n
“I lost the password to my BTC wallet. I think the housekeeper threw it away along with some old sheet music I donated to a second-hand bookstore,\u201d he tweeted last week. \u201cDoes anyone know how to recover passwords for the Ledger Nano X?”<\/p>\n
The pianist subsequently shared a video of him searching for the backup in his home library. \u201cYou need to find that paper, the house will fall apart,\u201d he says in the video. It\u2019s unclear whether he is saying this to his housekeeper or someone else.<\/p>\n
The incident followed a series of bad investment decisions Lord Vinheteiro said he made, including buying BTC at around $70,000 and selling his coins at around $50,000. (Presumably he bought another stash later on, which he stored in the Ledger.) He also said he invested in OIBR3 (a bankrupt Brazilian telco company) after listening to a recommendation from another YouTuber, resulting in over $30,000 in losses.<\/p>\n
Lord Vinheteiro\u2019s travails have been a major topic of discussion in the podcast of Luan Onofre, another popular Brazilian Youtuber who specializes in financial analysis. Onofre, who said Fabr\u00edcio had personally asked him for help, shared a voice message the pianist had left for a friend:<\/p>\n
“…Listen, it's getting bad. Do you know anyone who can recover my password?” Vinheteiro said weakly, referencing his stock market loss. “I don't want to take another hit. I don't know what to do, man, help me with this.”<\/p>\n
During the podcast, Onofre revealed that Vinheteiro was hospitalized as a result of the stress with an unknown condition after he sent the voice message.<\/p>\n
Brazilian cryptocurrency security expert Marcello Paz, speaking in a podcast with Onofre, outlined the stark reality of hardware wallet security. “If he's lost both the PIN and the backup phrase, there's no recovery path,” he explained, noting that Ledger devices automatically erase all data after three failed PIN attempts. “The encryption is so robust that even knowing 23 of 24 backup words in the wrong order would take billions of years to crack.”<\/p>\n
Recovery attempts have proven futile and costly\u2014adding even more pain to the situation. “I haven't recovered the lost BTC yet. Many offered to help but all demanded upfront commission payments,” Fabr\u00edcio posted on November 17. “I even paid one guy who disappeared after receiving the money. No one helps anyone in Brazil. They're all selfish. I don't understand how this country hasn't gone bankrupt yet. I need to catch the first flight to England.”<\/p>\n
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