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Man Who Has Two Attempts To Guess $239M Bitcoin Password Is At 'Peace' With Loss

Man Who Has Two Attempts To Guess $239M Bitcoin Password Is At 'Peace' With Loss

He forgot his password back in 2012 and says 'time heals all wounds'

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A man who has just two more attempts to correctly guess his password before he loses his $239 million Bitcoin fortune has said he's 'made peace' with the situation.

Stefan Thomas hit headlines after he revealed he had just two more tries to access 7,002 Bitcoin - currently equivalent to almost $239 million (£175m) - that is stored away on a small hard drive called an IronKey.

The hard drive allows users 10 attempts before it packs in and encrypts the content forever - Thomas has entered eight incorrect passwords, meaning he's got just two left.

Thomas misplaced the password back in 2012, and it seems as though he's used the nine years since to work through his loss.

Speaking to KGO-TV, Thomas, who lives in San Francisco, said: "There were sort of a couple weeks where I was just desperate, I don't have any other word to describe it.

PA

"You sort of question your own self-worth. What kind of person loses something that important?"

He then went on to say 'time heals all wounds' and that he has 'made peace' with his loss.

He added: "It was actually a really big milestone in my life where, like, I sort of realised how I was going to define my self-worth going forward.

"It wasn't going to be about how much money I have in my bank account."

Well, I guess that's one way of looking at it. Personally, I'd cry myself to sleep every single night.

For the time being, Thomas has put his IronKey in a secure facility just on the off chance someone comes up with a new way to crack into it.

ABC

And there have been suggestions, in case you were wondering, since he shared his story with the New York Times earlier this month, Thomas has been flooded with lots of helpful - and not so helpful - hints.

He added: "One person suggested, have you tried the word 'password'?

"Some people have recommended various mediums, psychics, prophets that I could talk to.

"Some people are suggesting nootropic memory enhancing drugs."

As yet, Thomas hasn't taken up any of these suggestions and is happy to keep it at the secure unit.

Speaking to the New York Times, he said: "I got to a point where I said to myself, 'Let it be in the past, just for your own mental health'."

Featured Image Credit: ABC

Topics: US News, Technology