Over 15,000 acres have burned, forcing the evacuation of over 100,000 residents, including workers from crypto companies headquartered near the blazes. The situation underscores the importance of physical safety and digital security—particularly the need for proper backup protocols for critical crypto assets.
Crypto Industry in the Line of Fire
The Pacific Palisades fire, near Santa Monica and Malibu, and the Eaton fire, near Pasadena, have destroyed thousands of structures. The fires are now threatening the operations of several crypto-related businesses:
- Santa Monica Bitcoin Office: Located south of the Palisades and Sunset fires, its employees are near evacuation zones.
- BlockDaemon: The blockchain service provider headquartered in Los Angeles faces heightened risks due to its proximity to the fires.
- Spring Labs: This blockchain-based ID and tokenization company, located in Marina del Rey, is also near the affected areas.
Other facilities, like the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles and venues like DaBank and Jungla, have so far been spared. However, the unpredictable nature of wildfires highlights the vulnerability of physical locations, especially in disaster-prone areas.
A Harsh Reminder: Always Back Up Your Keys
Amid the devastation, reports have surfaced of crypto community members losing not just their homes but also their hardware wallets. These tragic losses highlight a critical lesson: always back up your crypto keys.
Crypto users are reminded to:
- Store backups securely: Use multiple secure locations, such as bank safety deposit boxes or encrypted cloud storage, for key backups.
- Utilize fireproof and waterproof storage: Hardware wallets and key backups should be kept in fireproof safes or specialized cases.
- Adopt redundancy: Consider having both physical and digital backups to ensure access even in emergencies.
While crypto assets are decentralized and recoverable with the proper keys, losing access to those keys can make recovery impossible.
Ethical Concerns: Betting on Tragedy
The wildfire crisis has taken a bizarre turn as decentralized prediction platform Polymarket advertises bets on the fires’ deadly outcomes. This move has sparked criticism from the crypto community, with many calling it distasteful and exploitative.
The Bigger Picture
The wildfires serve as a wake-up call for the crypto industry to adopt robust disaster preparedness plans. Beyond backing up keys, businesses should ensure data redundancy, maintain secure offsite servers, and have clear employee evacuation protocols in place.