JAKARTA - A German programmer, Stefan Thomas, lost a fantastic amount of Bitcoin. No half-hearted, Bitcoin worth 3 trillion must disappear from his digital wallet. The problem is simple, Thomas forgot his digital wallet password.
As much as 7,0002 or $ 220 million worth of Bitcoin belonging to Thomas is locked in the IronKey hard drive as reported by Nathaniel Popper of the New York Times. The problem is, Thomas can't remember the password. He tried to enter the password and failed.
Thomas threatened to lose 220 million dollars worth of Bitcoin due to IronKey's very strict security protocols. It is still possible for Thomas to pay someone to break the hard drive. However, Thomas costs money to make this possibility happen.
Launching The Verge, this is a dark comedy scenario. Popper's post in the New York Times helps explain the incident. There is mention of the volatile nature of Bitcoin's value and the mysterious creator of the digital currency.
For additional information, volatile is a term which states that any data stored in a device will only last as long as there is an electric power flow to the device.
Several years earlier, Thomas had lost the paper with the password to open his IronKey. This IronKey gives 10 times the chance to enter the password of the owner. Thomas has tried it 8 times, but without success.
"I'm just going to lie in bed and think about it," said Thomas. "Then I'll go to the computer with some new strategies, and if they don't work, I'll be desperate again."
Earlier in 2012, Thomas joined a cryptocurrency startup called Ripple with the aim of increasing Bitcoin. Thomas was awarded the original Ripple currency or commonly known as the high value XRP.
Currently, there are around 18.5 million Bitcoin. About 20 percent or 140 billion United States dollars disappeared from digital wallets because they are inaccessible, as reported by the New York Times.
There are still other digital wallets containing Bitcoin worth 30 thousand to 300 thousand US dollars that have been locked in the past. However, Thomas's story is a reminder of how important this problem is for Bitcoin owners.
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