7002 BTC Worth $562 Million at Risk Due to Forgotten Password

Programmer Stefan Thomas has only two attempts left to remember the password for his encrypted IronKey USB drive, which holds the keys to a cryptocurrency wallet containing 7002 bitcoins. If he enters the wrong password for the tenth time, the device will lock him out of the data. With an estimated value of around $80,000 per bitcoin, these assets are worth approximately $562 million. In 2011, Thomas received 7002 BTC as a reward for creating a video about bitcoin. He stored the private keys on the encrypted drive but lost the written password and backup copies. Thomas has attempted to recover the password, using eight of his ten attempts. In 2023, the company Unciphered offered assistance, but Thomas declined as he had already been working with other teams. As of October 2023, access to the drive has not been restored. If the drive locks the data, Thomas may permanently lose access to his 7002 BTC, although the bitcoins will remain on the blockchain. Thomas's story illustrates the risks of self-custody of cryptocurrencies, where there is no support service for password recovery.

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