Password is crucial for security in the digital world. Passwords are personal but can be disastrous if you forget them, as happened to Stefan Thomas, who was at risk of failing to become a billionaire because he could not access bitcoin savings.
The German programmer who lives in California, United States, admits that he is in danger of losing 7,002 bitcoins, which are worth the equivalent of US $ 220 million.
He failed to remember the password used to store his Bitcoin on the IronKey hard drive.
Launching Independent, Thomas has tried eight variations of passwords that are commonly used but nothing has worked until now.
Thomas only had two more chances to enter the correct password before the bitcoin was locked forever. IronKey only allows the user to do 10 tries before it takes over and encrypts its contents forever.
Thomas admits that he received a reward in bitcoin for making an animated video about bitcoin in 2011.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t remember the password for IronKey, the encrypted hard drive that held his digital wallet keys the same year he received the bitcoin prize.
“I’m just going to lie in bed and think about it. Then I’ll go to the computer with some new strategy and it’s not going to work, and I’ll be hopeless again,” said Thomas.
On the other hand, Bitcoin cannot help Thomas either because they do not store passwords, but only give individuals who buy bitcoin a private key to their digital wallet, which can only be accessed by the individual himself.
According to the Financial Editorial, Thomas said that he originally wrote down the password on a piece of paper, but he now doesn’t know where the paper is.
Read now: European Central Bank President: Bitcoin is a Dangerous Investment
