-snip-
I do wonder though, if you stored coins in 2008-2013, would you have just kept the private key and left it this entire time, or would you have moved the coins to better storage following? If someone is still holding their coins from that era and has not touched them, while keeping them safe and having peace of mind with the way they store it, they definitely deserve some credit and commendation.
To save up to this point seems like it would be a miracle.
But when they forget and find the private key now stored in a safe place, they are quite lucky.
Not just a miracle, but also extremely good discipline. Of course if you lost it and found it, definitely a miracle. Just holding it however, just diamond hands!
Few people will be able to hold on to it for now, but if they are experts and store or move their bitcoins in a Cold Wallet or hardware wallet, they are ready from the start and believe in Bitcoin.
You don't need to be an expert to utilize cold storage. In fact, everyone should be using at least cold storage for coins that are not planning to be moved for 1-3 months+.
Given today's economic circumstance - you are right in saying that it is hard for the average person to hold on for the long haul.
Like the story of Davinci Jeremie, a software developer from Chile who is a true Bitcoin Holder.
Bought Bitcoin for under $1 and held it until now then sold it gradually and became a Bitcoin investor with a million-dollar fortune.
It takes a strong determination and belief that Bitcoin will reach its highest price and become valuable in the future.
No one will lose Bitcoin.
I wish I was a part of Bitcoin at those prices, and had a few hundred dollars of cash to spare. I would like to think that I would at least have been able to hold onto a few or put some in cold storage for the long run. Yet, here we are. A strong amount of determination, belief and lack of interference from financial circumstances I believe were absolutely necessary in hindsight.