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Ex-Ripple CTO Can't Remember Password to Access $240M in Bitcoin
Just call it Schrödinger's bitcoin.
The former chief technology officer of a prominent blockchain company has forgotten the password to a fortune in bitcoin.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
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- Almost a decade ago, Stefan Thomas, the former CTO at blockchain company Ripple Labs, was given 7,002 bitcoins worth $2-$6 each for making a cryptocurrency explainer video, reports the New York Times.
- The bitcoin had been stashed away in a digital wallet and Thomas has used eight of his most frequently used passwords in an attempt access his IronKey hard drive and his now multimillion-dollar fortune but has had no luck.
- Two attempts now remain before the device auto-encrypts its contents, leaving Thomas’ fortune in limbo. Just call it Schrödinger's bitcoin.
- “I would just lay in bed and think about it," Thomas told the New York Times. "Then I would go to the computer with some new strategy and it wouldn’t work, and I would be desperate again,” added Thomas.
- Bitcoin prices have climbed from $10,000 to $41,000 over the past three months. The price of bitcoin was at $34,290 at the time of publication, making Thomas' inaccessible stash worth an estimated $240 million.
- It seems Thomas will have to HODL on for a little while longer until he finds a way to access the bitcoin.
Read more: Meet the Man Who Will Hack Your Long-Lost Bitcoin Wallet for Money
Tanzeel Akhtar
Tanzeel Akhtar has contributed to The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes Africa, Financial Times, The Street, Citywire, Investing.com, Euromoney, Yahoo! Finance, Benzinga, Kitco News, African Business Magazine, Hedge Week, Campden Family Office, Modern Investor, Spear's Wealth Management Magazine, Global Investor, ETF.com, ETF Stream, CIO UK, Funds Global Asia, Portfolio Institutional, Interactive Investor, Bitcoin Magazine, CryptoNews.com, Bitcoin.com, The Local, The Next Web, Mining Journal, Money Marketing, Marketing Week and more. Tanzeel trained as a foreign correspondent at the University of Helsinki, Finland and newspaper journalist at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. She holds a BA (Honours) in English Literature from the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and completed a semester abroad as an ERASMUS student at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She is NCTJ Qualified - Media Law, Public Administration and passed the Shorthand 100WPM with distinction. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.
