He threw away a computer with $ 184 million in bitcoin and is desperate

Despite the sharp drop in its price, the value of Bitcoin has led the cryptocurrency to be one of the most sought-after digital currencies. James Howells He had 7,500 Bitcoins stored on his computer hard drive nearly 10 years ago, but he inadvertently threw them away. Currently this amount would be equivalent to $ 184 million.

Howells was able to contact the city council of the city of Newport, UK, to look for him, as that’s where the landfill where his computer went. If he recovers it, Howells said he will give 10% of the profits to turn the city into a cryptocurrency hub.

But local authorities have already said that digging in the landfill poses an ecological risk.

It really isn’t strange. It happens. There are people who throw away boxes of expired medicines without remembering that they used that box to store money; there are also those who throw away yoghurt pots and others with spoons inside. I said; it is not strange.

Of course it only fits when they are teaspoons or little savings. But when we talk about something with a value of 184 million dollars, things already take on another color. What would you do to get it back?

Howells, a computer engineer, accidentally dropped the hard drive in 2013 having mined 8,000 bitcoins in the early stages of the coin’s development.

James Howells, we’re talking about him, he comes from him Newportin Wales, and has 184 million dollars lost somewhere in the municipal landfill and is now in dispute with the City on this matter.

The value of bitcoin fluctuates enormously. For example, the value of what Howells owned was around $ 250 million in January 2021, but with the big drop earlier this year, it’s now significantly less.

A hard drive that was not blank

The unusual story begins almost 10 years ago, in 2013, when Howells does an intense cleaning of his house, after a long period of postponement. On the hustle and bustle, Howells throw away a hard drive that you thought was empty.

When he discovered the mistake, that the hard drive was not empty but actually contained 7,500 Bitcoins, it was late. All the garbage bags she had taken out of the house had been thrown into the municipal landfill.

At the current price, they represent those 7,500 Bitcoins 184 million dollars.

millionaire offer

Howells wants to search the trash can for his album, but for that requires the approval of the municipal authoritieswhich rejected several requests.

“I would like the opportunity to meet decision makers and present them with an action plan,” Howells said South Wales Argo noting that it is supported by a hedge fund set up to provide funding for the project.

The programmer explains that in 2013 a garbage can, once filled, received a serial number before it was moved to a pit and buried. A reference to the grid was also attached to it.

“Like this I could access the dump logidentify the week I unloaded the hard drive, identify the container serial number and then the grid reference position, “said the computer scientist.

Howells believes that despite so many yearsthe data can still be recovered. “The outer box may be rusted, but it’s possible that the disk inside where the data is stored is still working,” she said.

An expensive, time-trial race

But finding the hard drive is only part of this monumental task. There is no guarantee that, if found, your condition will be recoverable.

But in that case, its owner is more than ready to receive a mega sum of money, even if the actual amount will depend on the direction of the highly volatile cryptocurrency.

From the Newport City Council they pointed out that “the cost of excavating, storing and treating waste it could involve millions of dollarswithout any guarantee of finding [el dispositivo] or that it continues to work “.

Furthermore, they indicate that mining is not possible under current licenses and that the business itself could have a serious environmental impact in the areareasons why they claim they cannot cooperate.