$220 million worth of bitcoin locked away as man forgets password

We all know how tiresome it can be to remember passwords for all the various devices and accounts one uses on a daily basis. What may be even more annoying is when one has to change their password because they’ve forgotten their older one. All the verification steps can make the whole ordeal rather cumbersome. But can you imagine losing a fortune of millions because you forgot your password? If that thought left you with a sour taste in your mouth, then wait until you hear the story of Stefan Thomas, a German-born programmer who lives in San Francisco. Thomas forgot the password to his almost $220 million worth bitcoin fortune. Yet, he has turned that experience into a meaningful life lesson. His story may leave you fascinated.

A decade ago, Thomas was given 7,002 bitcoins for making an explainer video about how cryptocurrency works, reports BBC. Back then, their value was merely a few dollars each. However, now the 7,002 bitcoins are worth $220 million. But as luck would have it, the password that would have give Thomas the access to an IronKey, a small hard drive that holds the private keys to a digital wallet with the said bitcoins, is lost.

Thomas had written the password on a piece of paper which is misplaced. He has ten attempts to guess the password, out of which he has already used eight, reports UPI.com. After two more failed attempts, the password will encrypt itself, making the wallet impossible to access.

Through this unfortunate circumstance, Thomas seems to be taking away a positive lesson. “It was actually a really big milestone in my life where, like, I sort of realized how I was going to define my self-worth going forward. It wasn’t going to be about how much money I have in my bank account,” he said, reports UPI.com.

What are your thoughts on this?