IT engineer James Howells has abandoned his decade-long quest to recover a hard drive containing 8000 Bitcoin, as reported by Bitcoin Archive. Howells accidentally discarded the drive in 2013 during a cleaning spree. At the time, the 8000 BTC were worth around $6.5 million. Today, that Bitcoin would be valued at an estimated 1.28 trillion KRW. Howells persistently petitioned the Newport City Council to allow him to excavate the landfill where he believed the drive was buried. However, Newport authorities consistently denied his requests, citing significant environmental risks associated with the excavation. Concerns included the release of harmful gases and potential damage to the landfill's infrastructure. Despite Howells' innovative proposals, including AI-powered sorting and robotic digging, the council remained firm. Consequently, the 8000 Bitcoin are now considered irretrievably lost, a stark reminder of the importance of data management and backup strategies in the digital age. ```

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