Man has just two guesses left to recover his $790M in Bitcoin or lose it forever
Published on Sep 22, 2025 at 9:00 PM (UTC+4)
by Jack Marsh
Last updated on Sep 22, 2025 at 9:03 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
After forgetting the password to his encrypted USB drive, Swiss businessman Stefan Thomas has just two guesses left to recover his $777M Bitcoin empire, or lose it forever.
Forgetting a password is a headache. Even going through the ‘Forgotten password’ emails is a pain in the backside, and sometimes enough to put people off even logging in. Tireseome things.
But after winning a massive cache of Bitcoin back in 2011, Swiss entrepreneur Stefan Thomas placed it on an encrypted IronKey S200 flash drive and set it to one side to accumulate cash.
14 years later, and the hard drive remains unopened, despite his thousand-dollar investment now being worth over three-quarters of a billion, and it’s because he’s forgotten his password.
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A bitcoin empire faces elimination after Swiss entrepreneur forgot his password
The crypto market can be devastatingly punishing. Even the world’s wealthiest men feel the wrath of the online currencies, as Elon Musk proved by losing billions on a preemptive Bitcoin dump.
Stefan Thomas is quite the Bitcoin mogul, having started companies that specialize in crypto infotainment and boasting a portfolio of his own.
But nearly $800m of Bitcoin could be about to be wiped from his grasp, as he only has two guesses left to remember his encrypted memory stick password.
The military-grade IronKey S200 flash drive will automatically delete all remnants of information stored on it after 10 incorrect guesses.
To date, he’s used eight, having first forgotten his password a year after putting the collection on there.
The 7,002 Bitcoin collection was worth a few thousand dollars in 2011 when he won a competition for the crypto payout. Since then, and as of September 22, 2025, it has grown to be worth $790 million.
Bitcoin has even dropped this week, with the collection peaking at around $830 million in August.
How can he recover it?
Some Bitcoin empires are, unfortunately, irrecoverable.
One man has found this out the hard way, after he lost $920 million worth of the currency following a decade-long legal battle with a landfill site.
In fact, three people have combined to lose over $2 billion worth of Bitcoin, having lost access to their accounts.
Stefan Thomas has previously enlisted the help of hackers and decryption experts to help decode his IronKey S200 flash drive or bypass the firewall completely.
However, he’s had no luck.
Fortunately for the man, he’s already made ‘more riches’ than he knows what to do with, through crypto, and this Bitcoin empire isn’t burning a hole in his head like it would for the rest of us.
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Jack Marsh is a journalist who started his media career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from the University of Chester. As an avid supercar and racing enthusiast, he has a passion for everything from Formula 1 to NASCAR. Whether it's highlighting the intricacies of McLaren’s anti-dive suspension revelations or recognizing celebrities’ multi-million-dollar rides, he has a keen eye for the faster things in life.
