Netflix is diving into a topic well known not only to crypto enthusiasts but also to regulators and lawyers around the world: a forgotten password to a crypto wallet. The streaming giant has announced a new comedy titled One Attempt Remaining, taking aim at one of the biggest paradoxes of digital assets—vast wealth that owners cannot access.

The film stars Hollywood actress Jennifer Garner and follows a divorced couple who discover that a cryptocurrency they once won on a cruise is now worth tens of millions of dollars. There is just one problem: they forgot the password.

48 hours, one last attempt, and the SEC steps in

According to What’s on Netflix, the story centers on a dramatic race against time. The couple has only 48 hours to access $35 million stored in a crypto wallet before the funds are forfeited. The plot is further complicated by the involvement of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The title One Attempt Remaining makes it clear that the film blends romantic comedy with a very real crypto nightmare. The creators appear to have drawn inspiration from real-world cases where people lost access to digital assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Real-life stories: hundreds of millions locked in wallets

One of the most famous cases involves Stefan Thomas, former CTO of Ripple. In 2011, he stored 7,002 bitcoins on an IronKey hardware device. At the time the story surfaced, the holdings were valued at around $640 million.

The problem? After ten incorrect password attempts, IronKey permanently erases the data. Thomas publicly admitted he had already used eight attempts. As of December, it remains unclear whether he has regained access to his bitcoin.

An even more desperate case is that of James Howells, a Welsh entrepreneur and early bitcoin investor who lost a hard drive containing private keys to 8,000 bitcoins. The drive was accidentally discarded at a landfill in the UK in 2013. As of March 2025, Howells has reportedly exhausted nearly all legal options to search the site.

Crypto in film: more of a backdrop than the main theme

Although cryptocurrencies and Blockchain have appeared in American pop culture for more than a decade, they have rarely been the central theme of feature films. Exceptions include Money Plane (2020), the documentary Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King (2022), and the upcoming film Going Infinite about the collapse of FTX.

That is what makes Netflix’s comedic approach particularly interesting. One Attempt Remaining suggests that crypto stories are becoming fertile ground for filmmakers.

Entertainment and a warning for everyday users

Beyond humor, the film may also serve as a cautionary tale. A forgotten password, lost private key, or poorly secured wallet in the crypto world often means permanent loss of assets. Netflix is betting on a story wrapped in a romantic comedy but rooted in the harsh reality of digital finance.

Sources:

https://x.com/netflix/status/1999174036564378011

https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/one-attempt-remaining-netflix-movie-everything-we-know-so-far/

https://cointelegraph.com/news/netflix-comedy-movie-missing-crypto-password