Man has two guesses at forgotten password that could lose him $260,000,000 of Bitcoin
Three strikes and you're out.
Well in Stefan Thomas' case, it's more like two strikes left and he's out.
The German-born investor is sitting on a cryptocurrency fortune worth over $260 million (£200,000,000). But he's unable to touch any of it after losing a piece of paper containing his password a decade ago.
Back in 2011, he bought 7,002 Bitcoin which is now worth around $220 million.
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It’s locked away in an IronKey password-protected hard drive which gives him just 10 attempts to correctly enter his password before it seizes up. Stefan has already used eight.
'I would just lay in bed and think about it,' Thomas told the NY Post. 'Then I would go to the computer with some new strategy, and it wouldn’t work, and I would be desperate again.'
With only two attempts remaining, Stefan's confidence was hit hard.
He told Berliner Zeitung: 'I was absolutely desperate. I couldn't sleep for nights. I even suffered from depression.
'But much worse than the loss of the money was my self-reproach: I simply couldn't believe I had lost something so important. I felt like a complete idiot, my self-esteem was in the basement.'
Of course with his story spreading across social media, people suggested some bizarre solutions.
'There were smart Alecs or jokers who asked me: have you tried 'password'?' Stefan said.
'And I've received all kinds of bizarre offers: several people with so-called channelling abilities contacted me and also a "prophet" from Croatia.'
One team of hackers believes they might be able to unlock it if Stefan agrees to let them try.
'On the other hand, there were also some technology experts and data recovery companies who offered me support,' he added.
But Stefan remains hopeful.
'You would have to take the USB stick apart and then remove the chip itself layer by layer using a scanning electron microscope,' he explained. 'This would allow you to read out the individual flash memory cells.'
However, the process is 'incredibly time-consuming' as it requires a laboratory and experts, and a whole lot of money, with no guaranteed results.
Despite the setback, Stefan is determined not to let it get him down. He’s continued with his life and even bought more Bitcoin.
'It must go on,' he admitted. 'So I went back to doing what I really wanted. And what had always motivated me was to write software that helps people.
'I threw myself back into programming. When I had a permanent job again, I bought new Bitcoins. I still have them today.'