When you have a fortune estimated at $800 million… but it is locked inside a small metal device that can only be opened with a single password.
Imagine that password has evaporated from your memory.
This is not a story from a movie, but what is said to be the reality lived by "Stefan Thomas", a German-American programmer residing in San Francisco.
The story of a man who became known not for making his fortune from cryptocurrencies, but because he nearly lost it right before his eyes, completely helpless.
In 2011, Stefan received 7,002 Bitcoins in exchange for producing a tutorial video explaining the concept of Bitcoin, when it was just an experiment that no one cared about.
At that time, the value of Bitcoin was only a few dollars.
Stefan stored this currency in an encrypted device known as "IronKey" — a secure storage unit that gives only 10 attempts to enter the password,
and if it fails… everything is deleted forever.
Years passed, and the value of Bitcoin rose until each one became worth tens of thousands of dollars.
But Stefan could not access his device.
He tried 8 passwords. And failed.
He has only two attempts left… and if he makes a mistake, everything is lost forever.
He searched for solutions. Consulted experts. Sought help from the largest digital security companies.
But it was in vain. No one can open IronKey.
In the world of cryptocurrencies, there is no customer service, and no way to recover the password.
Those who forget, lose. Simply.
Stefan's story is real.
