Did James Howell just end his 12-year search for lost bitcoin hard drive? Internet says ‘beyond recovery anyway’ – Trending News
Twelve years ago, in Newport, South Wales, James Howells accidentally tossed away a hard drive holding 8000 bitcoins while cleaning his office in 2013. Today, worth $950 million, the hard drive is still missing, but Howells has reportedly given up his search.
Earlier this year, Howells considered buying the landfill site to hunt for his missing tokens. However, he lost the case against the Newport City Council, which would have allowed him to rummage through the heap of trash. The life-altering cleanup might be Howells’ biggest regret, which turned twelve years of his life into a treasure hunt.
‘$8 billion by 2030’
Social media is abuzz with posts about James Howells, stunned by the scale of his loss and the fact that he chose to give up after more than a decade of searching. Based on recent trends, by 2030, the BTCs would be valued at $8 billion. Netizens are now slamming Howells for his “$950 million mistake.” A user on X (formerly Twitter) said he was, “simply careless and took his security and circumstances for granted. Soon it’ll be a $1 billion mistake.”
“This will be a great Netflix series someday,” commented a user. Interestingly, a BBC report revealed that an LA-based firm has acquired exclusive rights to develop and produce his story. A working title was revealed: “Buried Bitcoin”.
A user even suggested that, “The harsh drive isn’t worth anything. After 10+ years in an open landfill, it’s going to be corroded and damaged, likely beyond recovery.” Other conspiracy theorists refuted the initial news of the hard drive being lost in the first place, questioning how someone can stop looking for $8 billion, or “why would anyone even throw away a hard disk in 2013? That was hard to get in those years.”
In an event in May, Howells, while still chasing his buried bitcoins, revealed that he would tokenise 21% of those coins, 1,675 bitcoins, as ordinals to the public. It would have led him to raise nearly $75 million. At the time, he was still planning to buy the landfill. He said, “We are going to make an offer they can’t refuse.” However, the needle-in-the-haystack chase faced multiple ecological and legal hurdles before Howells finally gave up.