Man Has Two Login Attempts Left to Access $220 Million in Bitcoin Before It’s All Lost

Man Has Two Login Attempts Left to Access $220 Million in Bitcoin Before It’s All Lost

Stefan Thomas, a German programmer living in San Francisco, owns 7,002 in bitcoins in a digital wallet, which is worth $220 million. But the programmer can't access the money because he lost his password, according to The New York Times.He has tried eight times to guess the code, but with no success. Now, Thomas has just two more chances to guess his password correctly before the money is lost.The hard drive, known as IronKey, where Thomas' bitcoins are held allows users 10 attempts to correctly guess their password before encrypting the contents permanently.Bitcoin also can't help Thomas, since it doesn't store its users' passwords. Instead, it gives users their own private IronKey, which only they have access to."I would just lay in bed and think about it," Thomas told the Times. "Then I would go to the computer with some new strategy, and it wouldn't work, and I would be desperate again."Thomas was given the bitcoins as a reward for making a 2011 animated video, "What Is Bitcoin?," explaining the cryptocurrency. The programmer said he lost the paper that the password was written on that year.Bitcoins on display on December 17, 2020, in Paris.

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