After 12 years, the story of a man who lost a hard drive with $742 million has a surprising ending
James Howells, an IT specialist and resident of Newport, UK, threw away a hard drive containing the password to his wallet with 8,000 Bitcoins — which was worth about $8 million in 2013. With the appreciation of the cryptocurrency, the value reached $742 million. Since then, he has attempted to recover the lost device from a landfill, devising a bold plan using drones, artificial intelligence, and robots.
However, local authorities rejected the proposal, citing environmental risks such as the release of toxic gases and soil contamination. Additionally, under British law, items discarded in landfills become the property of the site, which further complicated the recovery of the drive. The courts denied the excavation, stating that there was no realistic chance of success, considering the likely state of deterioration of the equipment after so many years.
Despite the judicial setback, Howells' story took a new turn: a production company in Los Angeles acquired the rights to turn his saga into a documentary series, podcast, and short videos, titled The Buried Bitcoin: The Real-Life Treasure Hunt of James Howells. Excited, James stated that the project is a way to show his journey to the world and reaffirmed that he does not intend to give up.
Source: Itatiaia
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