Oskar Larsen

I've been through hell in the last seven years. But let me start from the beginning.

I originally worked as a graphic designer in Oslo, Norway. Thirteen years ago, I made the logo and website for a Norwegian start-up. The young entrepreneurs had a tight budget and could only offer payment in Bitcoin, which was around 1 dollar per Bitcoin at the time. Frustrated by the offer, I reluctantly accepted, knowing it was better than not getting paid at all. They gave me detailed instructions on how to receive and store the Bitcoin, which involved buying a small, very secure USB stick. Although it was tedious, I managed to set everything up and stashed the USB stick in the farthest corner of a desk drawer.

Fast forward, and I had completely forgotten about the Bitcoin until a friend mentioned its skyrocketing value. Suddenly, my 5000 Bitcoins were worth 1.5 million dollars. Over the years, I had moved several times, always bringing the USB stick with me but stashing it somewhere new each time. Eventually, I lost track of it. When Bitcoin's value reached nearly 100 million dollars, I was in a state of constant anxiety, tearing apart my apartment and furniture, desperate to find the stick.

Then, one day, my phone rang. My ex-girlfriend called to say she had found a USB stick in a drawer while searching for one for her bachelor's thesis. She had forgotten about it and kept it uselessly in a box for years. I couldn't believe my luck. When I visited her to retrieve the stick, we talked about the past, our problems, and why she had left me.

With the stick in hand, my whole body shook with emotion. At home, I plugged it into my computer and there it was—the access I had lost. I sold half of the Bitcoin, amounting to millions. I donated most of the money, shared a lot with family and friends, and of course, with my ex-girlfriend, who has since become a regular part of my life again.

At 43, I feel like I've been given a second chance—not just financially, but in reconnecting with someone important to me. It's a strange and humbling feeling, knowing how close I came to losing everything, yet ending up with more than I ever dreamed.