Newcomers are diving into crypto with out studying what it’s, veterans are watching their earnings soar with out spurring adoption and skeptics are judging crypto with little data, says OG Bitcoiner James Howells.
Howells is known for combating in court docket to get better a tough drive from a landfill that contained 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC) price $700 million. Whereas he did not succeed, he informed Cointelegraph that he did not let the loss outline him and shared his ideas and 2026 resolutions for newcomers, veterans and skeptics.
For over 12 years, I attempted every little thing to have interaction with Newport Metropolis Council:
• Public Proposals
• Percentages
• Mediation
•Authorized motion
• AND a proper £25M+ supply$1 Billion and so they ignored all of it.
No response. Nicely, logic. No management.
They need me to surrender, however pic.twitter.com/z9IWrurojD
— James Howells (@howelzy) August 4, 2025
Newcomers should perceive crypto earlier than diving in
Many learners launch straight into shopping for crypto on an alternate, however they need to first be taught what it’s they’re shopping for and the real-world issues it seems to resolve, Howells stated.
“Find out how blockchains function, why decentralized finance exists, and what drawback it solves.”
“Fiat methods focus energy in governments and intermediaries,” he stated, including blockchain presents an alternate for people to “decide out of that with out permission from a 3rd get together.”
“Understanding why this issues is extra essential than shopping for any coin,” stated Howells.
Newcomers ought to fastidiously experiment
As soon as the fundamentals are understood, Howells stated newcomers ought to experiment with every kind of crypto protocols, companies, and wallets — with out placing actual cash in danger.
“You’ll make errors, and you’ll lose cash. That’s a part of studying,” he stated. “The bottom line is to make sure these classes price pennies, not pay checks.”
“No person cares about dropping $0.10 in the event that they discovered one thing worthwhile. Folks do care once they lose $20, $30, or extra on a nasty app after which blame your entire know-how.”
Do not leverage commerce
Howells’ recommendation for newcomers to experiment with every little thing had one exception: Leverage buying and selling.
“Keep away from it completely,” he stated, warning that leverage platforms profit from inexperienced merchants making errors who “change into liquidity for extra refined gamers.”
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Those that don’t perceive market construction, liquidation mechanics, and danger administration change into the product, Howells warned.
Veterans, check your crypto pockets backup and restoration setup
Howells informed crypto veterans to routinely check their crypto pockets backup seed phrases to make sure that they’ll nonetheless restore entry to their funds.
“Check them. You don’t want the primary time you want a backup to be the second you uncover it’s unreadable, incompatible, outdated, or incomplete,” stated Howells, who added he’d seen numerous wallets made in 2013 to 2015 rendered inaccessible by software program rot and out of date codecs.
“{Hardware} modifications, software program evolves, and greatest apply evolves. In case your total setup is determined by one gadget, one seed copy, or one location, it’s not strong.”
Use crypto in day by day life, and convey others with you
Howells needs to see extra veterans educate newcomers, focusing much less on technical evaluation and extra on organising wallets and making transactions in the true world.
“In case you have made important good points, reinvest within the ecosystem,” he added. “Launch a enterprise, construct a service, run infrastructure, or settle for crypto for present items and companies.”
To the established and distinguished gatekeepers who blocked me for over a decade:
You’ll be able to block the gates.
You’ll be able to pack the courts.However you can’t block the blockchain.
Crypto already received.
Ceiniog is coming – and your world is collapsing. pic.twitter.com/wKSOtmw37m
— James Howells (@howelzy) August 4, 2025
Howells stated crypto adoption must be “far additional alongside than it’s,” and that veterans share accountability for that.
Cease chasing Wall Avenue and Washington’s validation
Howells stated Wall Avenue and politicians embrace crypto solely when it fits their very own pursuits and that “none of them are performing in your pursuits.”
“Their focus is management, affect, and danger administration on their very own phrases.”
Howells stated the “gravy prepare” that we see as we speak might not final perpetually and that lots of the pro-crypto rules in place as we speak are the “very cages that may entice customers later.”
“They don’t seem to be in your aspect,” he stated, warning veterans to not anchor their convictions round institutional and regulatory milestones and as a substitute deal with advancing peer-to-peer crypto adoption.
Skeptics should strive crypto earlier than forming conclusions
Howells informed skeptics to present crypto a go earlier than criticizing it primarily based on misinformed headlines.
“Use it genuinely over a significant time frame. Arrange a pockets, make transactions, expertise custody, and perceive what it permits.”
He stated that the majority criticism targets scams and unhealthy actors, which shouldn’t be ignored, however neither ought to the underlying skill to carry and switch worth with out permission.
“Choose the system by what it could possibly do, not by how badly some folks use it.”
Watch conduct, not rhetoric
Lastly, Howells famous that a lot of the recycled criticism comes from monetary establishments and nation-states which are quietly constructing blockchain infrastructure for custody, buying and selling, and settlement behind the scenes.
“That contradiction is price noting,” Howells concluded.
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