Almost 10 years ago , programmer Stefan Thomas created an animate TV titled " What Is Bitcoin " for a Bitcoin enthusiast in Switzerland .
For his trouble , he was of line make up in Bitcoin , 7,002 Bitcoins to be accurate . At the time the coin were only worth around$2 each , which is still pretty good for a short and relatively simple animation . Bitcoins are now worth around$34,500 , cause his Bitcoin worth $ 241,569,000 .
The $ 240,000,000 video , making it more expensive to make than The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug .
Sounds middling outstanding right , a really happy tale of good fortune and patience . Not so fast there , buddy . You see , being the security - conscious character , Thomas kept the Bitcoin on his code IronKey hard drive . The IronKey gives whoever is trying to access it 10 guesses before it basically ego - destructs , create it unaccessible to anyone .
This is great when it ’s some other nefarious role hear to access your $ 200 , but less than ideal when that nefarious mortal is you 10 old age on with absolutely no computer memory of what the password is , and the amount you ’re attempting to access is $ 240 million . Which is precisely what hap to Thomas , having lost the slice of paper on which he ’d noted his password , theNew York Times describe .
In the intervening years , Thomas has tried to reach the cause in an attempt to get to his millions , but with no destiny . As you’re able to think , it ’s pass on him somewhat stressed .
“ I would just lay in bed and think about it , ” Thomas tell the New York Times . “ Then I would go to the computer with some young scheme , and it would n’t form , and I would be despairing again . ”
He has now used eight of his 10 hypothesis . Two more , and it ’s gone .
Without abruptly call back it or finding the old piece of newspaper , his chances of being able to access it are pretty slight . However , some techies trust it could be possible to break the code .
" For $ 220 M in locked - up Bitcoin , you do n’t make 10 password surmise but take it to professionals to buy 20 IronKeys and drop six months finding a side - distribution channel or uncapping , " Alex Stamos of the Stanford Internet Observatorywrote in a Twitter thread .
" We ’re not blab out about some NSA - built cryptoprocessor installed on an SSBN , but an older $ 50 while of consumer kit . There is no style it ’s hardened against the last ten years ofUSENIXpapers that have never been used in exercise . "
permit ’s desire he ’s right , otherwise Thomas could join British IT worker James Howells , who lose 7,500 bitcoin – 498 more than Thomas – when heaccidentally dumped a heavy drivehe’d saved it on in 2013 .
