The stories of people losing access to their cryptocurrency can be devastating. There is Stefan Thomas, who forgot the password of his storage device and can’t access $235 million in Bitcoin. Or James Howell, who accidentally threw out the USB containing £200million Bitcoin and is lobbying to dig up a tip in Wales to find it. Could you imagine how they would feel.
This article takes a look at a lab in Seattle that has spent 8 months working on devices like the one Stefan Thomas is locked out of, solely focused on finding a way to unlock that $235 million of Bitcoin.
The challenge with his device is that it allows the user 10 guesses of the password. After the 10th incorrect guess, the device locks and the data is unrecoverable. Stefan has used 8 of his guesses.
This Seattle lab believes after 8 months they have found a solution and have tested it on devices that are the same make and model are Stefan’s. But here’s where the story gets weird. Stefan’s not interested in their help.
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