Only one password separates San Francisco-based programmer Stefan Thomas and 7,002 bitcoins. That's the equivalent of more than $240 million.

In a story all too familiar in the short life span of cryptocurrencies, another would-be crypto billionaire has lost the key to his fortune. The New York Times reports that Thomas was paid a large sum of bitcoins 10 years ago and hid them away for "safe" keeping; 10 years later, the password to his digital wallet has long since been discarded to the bottom of his heart, and the value of his bitcoins has The value of his bitcoins has skyrocketed to $34,000.

And if knowing that $240 million in bitcoins were locked away behind a prison of his own making wasn't bad enough, Thomas, after ten inaccurate guesses, has been able to get away with a strict and fairly common security protocol that encrypts the entire inescapable drive. Thanks to this, he only has two attempts to guess the right combination before he can say goodbye to his prized possessions.

"I just lay in bed thinking about it," Thomas told the New York Times.

"And then I would go to the computer with some new strategy, and it wouldn't work, and then I would despair again."

Thomas' predicament parallels a familiar story: in 2013, James Howells, an IT worker in Newport, Wales, accidentally threw away a hard drive containing about 7,500 bitcoins. This meant $260 million worth of bitcoins were in a landfill, which the local council wouldn't let anyone look for due to security concerns, hidden under seven years' worth of human excrement.

But Thomas was not doomed to fail. After all, there are two attempts left to crack this password. In response to this situation, which has hit the newspapers, Thomas has publicly offered to help from security experts who are prepared to work on cracking the code on the HDD created by IronKey or bypassing it altogether. This is, of course, on the condition of a share of the treasure if they decrypt it.

Thomas received a large sum of bitcoins for his "What is Bitcoin" animated video in 2011. At the time, the value of one bitcoin was less than $10.

Since that time, Thomas has reportedly lost interest in storing all his funds in a decentralized digital currency.

"This whole idea of being your own bank, let's put it this way: you make your own shoes? Thomas continues. 'The reason we have banks is because we don't want to do all the things that banks do.'

Bitcoin's value fell sharply yesterday, shaving more than 15% off the cryptocurrency's value. This digital currency, or commodity, is incredibly volatile and attractive to short-term investors looking to make a quick buck, but it has drawn the ire of financial institutions for the same reason. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned investors that they could lose everything they invested in bitcoin at the whim of the market (via The Guardian).

Thomas, however, is in no such position. He also joined the startup currency Ripple in 2012, and although it faces legal issues with the SEC, it has gained significant value alongside bitcoin.