The saga that a British computer specialist, James Howells, is caught up in resembles a modern treasure hunt of searching the landfill for a hard drive that contains 7,500 BTC against the Newport City Council over the right to search a landfill. After his ex-partner had the storage device mistakenly discarded, Howell wants to recover the lost cryptocurrency, which is now worth more than $525 million.
The Dump Disaster
The story dates a decade back when Howells, while deweeding at his home, lost the hard drive that possessed many Bitcoins. He would have never imagined this simple omission could spark a multi-million rescue attempt.
Despite his offering a huge reward worth 25% of this hardware store’s value, pleading with Newport City Council officials and running into obstacles and red tape on his way to unearth the landfill where this device is supposedly located, Howells is yet to achieve his goal.
With the support of a group of hedge-fund investors, Howells is now bringing legal action against the council to force them to allow him to go to the landfill.
The investors, lured by the possibility of the great income, seem to be bankrolling Howells’ lawsuit. They have assembled a group of specialists and data recovery experts to contribute to the search operation. If the lost Bitcoins’ current worth is estimated to be $525 million and the Market is bullish, their value will overachieve $1 billion.
“Some believe that by the end of the year, the price could skyrocket to $25,000 per coin. If that happens, my hard drive would be worth £1.5 billion,” Howells explained convincingly, showing his relentless pursuit of the lost asset.
City councils stick to their decisions despite the pressure
The Newport City Council has indicated fear of possible environmental damages as a reason for stopping excavation requests. Howells continues to fight; he does not give up, only becoming more stubborn to have a second opportunity to fix his misdeeds.
As Howell’s search for his lost Bitcoins continues, it is paired up with nuance and turmoil involved with digital cash and its recovery. The crypto world sees all this with its eyes fixed on the final outcome, not knowing how the scales of justice will tilt. Many enthusiasts are waiting to know whether Howells will win in his efforts to gain back the lost Bitcoins.
Watch this video to get all the bits and pieces of James Howell’s story, a man who lost half a billion worth of crypto to a landfill.
