Programmer Forgets Password to Bitcoin Wallet Worth $240 Million

San Francisco-based programmer Stefan Thomas has forgotten the password to his encrypted laptop hard drive, which holds the keys to a Bitcoin wallet containing 7,002 bitcoins, currently valued at approximately $240 million, as reported by The New York Times.

In early 2011, he released a video titled "What is Bitcoin?" which provided a brief overview of the cryptocurrency. After watching the video, a fan decided to thank Thomas for popularizing the topic by gifting him 7,002 bitcoins. This was shortly after Bitcoin's price first crossed the $1 mark.

Thomas secured his wallet keys in an IronKey system, but he wrote the password on a piece of paper that he subsequently lost. The system allows for only 10 password attempts before it permanently encrypts the data, making it inaccessible. So far, Thomas has tried eight attempts to recall the password, all of which have been unsuccessful. "I was just lying in bed, thinking about it. Then I’d go to my computer, try a new version, and again, get frustrated going back," Thomas recounted.

The loss of Bitcoin wallet passwords is a common phenomenon worldwide. It is estimated that about 20% of Bitcoin users have lost their passwords, equating to around $140 billion. Following the significant rise in Bitcoin's value, there has been an increase in the number of individuals trying to recover their lost passwords. Thomas himself has moved the hard drive to a safe place, hoping that cryptographers will find new ways to crack difficult passwords. "I told myself, ‘Let it be in the past, for the sake of my mental health,’" he added.