A programmer holds a USB drive with the private keys for 7,002 bitcoin, with only two password attempts remaining; the bitcoin is valued at approximately $777 million.
According to Odaily, programmer Stefan Thomas holds an IronKey encrypted USB drive containing the private keys to 7,002 BTC. These bitcoins were received as payment in 2011 for creating the educational video “What is Bitcoin?”. Recently, at an estimated price of about $111,000 per BTC, their total value is approximately $777 million.
The IronKey device is set to permanently lock and erase its contents after 10 incorrect password attempts. Thomas has already tried 8 times, leaving only 2 password attempts remaining. The manufacturer Kingston has stated that, apart from the original user-set password, there is no backup password or alternative recovery method.
Thomas has previously sought help from digital forensics company Naxo and security researcher Chris Tarnovsky, and once rejected Unciphered because he had already reached a verbal agreement with two other teams. As of the end of 2025, the IronKey remains stored in a Swiss vault, and as of mid-2026, a successful recovery has not been confirmed.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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