Former Ripple CTO Refuses Help from Startup to Access Locked 7002 Bitcoins

According to CryptoPotato, a Seattle-based startup called Unciphered, consisting of white hat hackers, claimed to have cracked the IronKey S200 thumb drive containing 7002 Bitcoins in September. They sent proof to a senior writer at WIRED Magazine, but former Ripple CTO Stefan Thomas refused their offer to access the USB drive for him. Thomas informed WIRED that he had already hired another team to work on the problem and wanted to give them a fair chance at retrieving the Bitcoins before considering another company. He mentioned the possibility of subcontracting the Seattle firm if the current team fails to find a solution.The cybersecurity firm that cracked the IronKey S200 has not revealed its method but did produce three randomly generated passphrase terms for the memory stick without prior knowledge of them. They claim it took 200 trillion tries using a high-performance computer to obtain the correct passphrase terms. This development could be a glimpse into how quantum computers might disrupt cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ripple in the future. Thomas, with his experience at Ripple Labs and personal experience of locking up 7002 Bitcoin on a thumb drive since 2011, offers a critical review of the 'be your own bank' narrative associated with Bitcoin. He compares it to making one's own shoes and highlights the reason for having banks is to avoid dealing with the complexities they handle. Ripple is a blockchain-based digital payments platform and currency exchange service used by financial institutions worldwide, while Bitcoin is the originator of hash-based blockchains for quick payment settlements and operates on an open, peer-to-peer network.