At some point, that file got corrupted, and Michael lost access to the 20-character password he had generated to secure his 43.6 BTC (worth a total of about 4,000 euros, or $5,300, in 2013).

In the end, Michael said he was lucky to have lost the password all those years ago. Otherwise, he believes he would have sold off his stash when Bitcoin hit $40,000 a coin and lost out on a lot ...