As far as I know this is what’s it about…I may well could be very wrong!

But where did the boat accident story come from and why is it so famous in the bitcoin community?

Initially, it was a joke related to the world of guns, which are legal in the U.S., but they must be declared, and if you don’t declare them or do it late, you will face penalties.

The joke comes from an actual real event. Due to low water levels, a citizen found a bag in a California lake containing a pistol and an ATF badge. He turned it into local authorities, and the ATF told the media that one of their agents (whose name was not released, *eyeroll*) had accidentally dropped the bag into the lake during a boating trip in the 1990s. The ATF refused to answer questions such as whether he reported the loss to local law enforcement, or if he was disciplined for his negligence. Note that, under current law, to lose a firearm and not report it would be a criminal offense.