🔐 Stefan Thomas – Lost Password to 7,002 BTC (~$250M)
Stefan Thomas, a German-born programmer living in the U.S., owns an encrypted USB hard drive (IronKey) containing 7,002 Bitcoins — worth over $250 million today.
The catch?
He lost the password.
The IronKey device allows only 10 attempts before it permanently locks. Stefan has used 8 of those tries… meaning he’s just 2 guesses away from losing it all forever.
“I would just lay in bed and think about it,” he told The New York Times.
“Then I’d go to the computer with a new strategy, and it wouldn’t work, and I’d be desperate again.”
This case has become legendary in crypto circles — a brutal reminder that self-custody comes with serious risks.
