What Would You Do If You Lost $200 Million?!

Everything involving Bitcoin seems a little over the top. The most recent WTF story involves a German-born programmer, Stefan Thomas, who now lives in San Francisco. In the quirky world of cryptocurrencies, the “coin” isn’t saved in a traditional bank account. You can’t go through the drive-through at the local bank branch and ask for your cryptocurrencies. Instead, you need to have an encrypted password, which is stored in a digital wallet.

Thomas had a dilemma. The former chief technology officer at blockchain company Ripple Labs was offered 7,002 Bitcoin—worth roughly $2 to $6 each—for making a cryptocurrency explainer video, reports the New York Times. As the cryptocurrency soared in value, Thomas’ investment boomed to an unbelievable $220 million.

Unfortunately, he can’t recall the password. After numerous attempts to figure out the password from 10-plus years ago, Thomas had only two guesses left—out of 10 chances. If he guessed correctly, Thomas would unlock the IronKey hard drive and become uber-wealthy.

Thomas said, “I would just lay in bed and think about it.” He added, “Then, I would go to the computer with some new strategy, and it wouldn’t work, and I would be desperate again.”

He’s not alone. The New York Times reported about the heartbreak of Brad Yasar. Yasar, who owned thousands of Bitcoin, said, “Through the years, I would say I have spent hundreds of hours trying to get back into these wallets.” Similar to Thomas, Yasar forgot his password as well, potentially losing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Due to the nature of the manner in which Bitcoin is stored, many other investors are locked out of their Bitcoin booty—forgetting their passwords or losing the digital keys. About 18.5 million Bitcoin—roughly 2%, amounting to roughly $140 billion—are believed to be lost.

I felt salty that I never bought Bitcoin. It’s probably worse knowing you bought the winning lottery ticket, but can’t find it to collect the loot.