Popular YouTuber Loses Seed Phrase to Ledger Holding $366,000 in Bitcoin

A renowned Brazilian pianist known as Lord Vinheteiro, with over 7 million YouTube subscribers, has lost access to 4 BTC valued at over 2 million reais (more than $366,000), according to Decrypt. 

Fabrício André Bernard Di Paolo, his real name, revealed on X that he misplaced the paper containing the seed phrase for his Bitcoin wallet.

Perdi a senha da minha carteira de BTC. Acho que a empregada jogou fora junto com umas partituras velhas que doei pra um sebo do lado da Praça da Sé. Alguém sabe como recuperar as senhas da Ledger Nano X?

— Lord Vinheteiro (@Vinheteiro) November 10, 2024

“I think the housekeeper threw it away along with some old sheet music I donated to a second-hand bookstore. Does anyone know how to recover passwords for Ledger Nano X?” he wrote. 

Subsequently, the pianist shared a video of himself searching for a backup in his home library. 

Foi só eu comprar 1 BTC (uma unidade) que a mágica aconteceu. Eu estava há 2.8 anos sem comprar BTC. pic.twitter.com/4inTKXJFS7

— Lord Vinheteiro (@Vinheteiro) August 5, 2024

“I need to find this paper, or the house will fall apart,” the blogger said. 

The incident followed a series of unfortunate investment decisions by Lord Vinheteiro, including purchasing Bitcoin at around $70,000 and selling it at approximately $50,000. Additionally, he lost over $30,000 on investments in the subsequently bankrupt Brazilian telecommunications company OIBR3.

Foi só eu comprar 1 BTC (uma unidade) que a mágica aconteceu. Eu estava há 2.8 anos sem comprar BTC. pic.twitter.com/4inTKXJFS7

— Lord Vinheteiro (@Vinheteiro) August 5, 2024

A close friend of the pianist, Luan Onofre, discussed his friend’s financial misfortunes in one of his podcasts. He also mentioned that Vinheteiro was hospitalized due to stress from an unknown illness.

So far, attempts to recover the funds have been unsuccessful.

Até agora não consegui recuperar os BTC perdidos. Muitos se prontificaram a me ajudar mas todos pediram comissão pra ajudar e com pagamento antecipado. Cheguei a dar um cascalho pra um cara me ajudar mas ele sumiu após o pagamento. No Brasil ninguém ajuda ninguém. Só querem…

— Lord Vinheteiro (@Vinheteiro) November 17, 2024

“Many offered to help, but all demanded advance commissions. I even paid one guy who disappeared after receiving the money. In Brazil, no one helps anyone. They are all selfish. I don’t understand how this country hasn’t gone bankrupt yet,” Lord Vinheteiro tweeted on November 17.

In September 2023, Brazilian YouTuber Ivan Bianco lost funds from two cryptocurrency wallets and NFTs totaling ~$60,000 after revealing their seed phrases during a stream.

Earlier, ForkLog reported that Briton James Howells has been searching for a hard drive containing 7,500 BTC for several years. In August 2013, he accidentally discarded it while cleaning his office. 

He has repeatedly sought assistance from Newport city authorities and even offered $72 million as a reward for excavating the landfill, but was refused. Now Howells is prepared to sue the city council.