Man Forgets Password To Account With 7,000 Bitcoins ($250 Million!)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Imagine winning the lottery, and then losing the ticket before you could cash it in. That’s pretty similar to what happened to one San Francisco man. He lost the password to access his 7,000 Bitcoins in 2012. That’s when Bitcoin was worth 10 or 11 dollars. But today, a Bitcoin is worth about $39,000 dollars. Which means Stefan Thomas has more than $250 million he can’t access!

Thomas says he saved the password on an old hard drive, but that drive only allows ten wrong password attempts before it locks forever and he’s got two attempts left. And says he’s heard from plenty of people who are trying to help. Thomas says, “A lot of people are offering various solutions. Everything from the silly…one person suggested, have you tried the word ‘password?’ So that was one.”

Because Bitcoin is an anonymous cryptocurrency, the only way to access it is with a password you set yourself. Forgetting that password isn’t uncommon. According the The New York Times, about $140 billion worth of Bitcoin appears to be stranded in digital wallets. As for Thomas? He says he’s moved on from his dilemma, and judges his self-worth on things other than money.

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WCCB TV’s Morgan Fogarty
WCCB News @ Ten anchor Drew Bollea
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