A billion-dollar Ethereum wallet that no one can open — why? 💰🔒
✅ Owners: Rain Lõhmus, an Estonian banker, bought 250,000 ETH during the Ethereum presale in 2014.
✅ Current value: Approximately $1.18 billion based on today's ETH price (~$4,700).
✅ Status: The wallet is fully visible on the blockchain, but it cannot be accessed without the lost password and original JSON file.
✅ Fame: This case joins stories like Bitcoin Pizza Day and James Howells' hard drive in the landfill, as one of the most famous “what if” scenarios in the cryptocurrency world.
✅ Recovery challenge: The presale encryption of Ethereum makes brute-forcing the password almost impossible, especially without any strong clues.
🔑 Details of the lost wallet
✅ The wallet has not executed any transactions since the day ETH became redeemable.
✅ Despite the inactivity, the wallet has received several airdrops over the years, increasing its value.
✅ It represents about 0.2% of the current Ethereum supply (~120.7 million ETH).
✅ Without the JSON file and original password, the chances of recovering this fortune are virtually zero.
📜 Importance of the story
✅ It presents a rare example of an unused digital fortune worth a billion dollars.
✅ It highlights the challenges of digital wallet security and underscores the importance of keeping passwords and essential files safe.
✅ This wallet ranks among the most intriguing “what if” stories in the history of cryptocurrencies.
