Stefan Thomas Faces Final Password Attempts for $777 Million Bitcoin Fortune

In 2011, programmer Stefan Thomas received 7,002 BTC as payment for an educational video, now valued at approximately $777 million. The private keys are stored on an IronKey USB drive, which will permanently delete its contents after 10 incorrect password attempts. Thomas has already made 8 attempts and has only 2 guesses left. He has engaged digital forensics firm Naxo and security researcher Chris Tarnovsky for assistance but has not yet succeeded in recovering the keys. The IronKey remains in a Swiss vault as of mid-2026, with no confirmed recovery efforts. Kingston, the manufacturer, has stated there are no backup options for password recovery. This situation highlights the risks associated with self-sovereignty in cryptocurrency management.

Key Points: • Stefan Thomas has only 2 password attempts left to access $777 million in Bitcoin. • The IronKey USB drive will permanently delete its contents after 10 incorrect attempts. • Thomas has sought help from digital forensics experts but has not yet recovered the keys.