this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2024
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Summary

James Howells lost 8,000 Bitcoins worth over £500 million when he accidentally threw away a hard drive containing his private key.

He has been trying to retrieve the hard drive from a Newport landfill for over a decade, but the council has refused to allow him access.

Howells is now suing the council for £495 million in damages.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 hour ago

Something to note is the level of environmental damage attempting to recover this could cause. It’s not worth a “chance” for causing that damage.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 hours ago

In Finland we have this saying "voiko vitutukseen kuolla?"

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 hours ago

He can't really prove it even exists.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 hours ago

"Accidentally threw it away" really sounds more like "threw it away, didn't have a backup, he now regrets throwing it away".

Dread to think what his solicitor is making by allowing this delusion to continue (unless he's representing himself in which case...fair enough I suppose). I've been reading about this man for years it seems like.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

With headlines like this, it's always important to keep in mind that bitcoin is such a thinly traded (and largely artificial) market that actually trying to sell 8,000 Btc for real dollars/pounds would instantly and catastrophically crash the price.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I agree with everything you said but 8000 bitcoin won't move the price much. We've seen management firms buying hundreds of millions worth of bitcoins

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (1 children)

Different dynamics. Buys require sellers, of which there are a fair amount (though few enough still that large purchases absolutely do shift the price significantly; we've seen multiple instances of Tether bringing the price up by 20% or more for the cost of billion newly minted USDT). Sells require buyers, which are in very short supply.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago

Got it thank you for the explanation

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 hours ago

reverse money printer go rbbbbbbbbbb

[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

It's been over 10 years. Even if he found it, what is the likelihood any data could still be retrieved from a hard drive that's been buried in landfill for that long?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Pretty good actually. But the odds of finding it are basically nil. A needle in a haystack would actually be easier.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

He just needs to drag an incredibly powerful magnet through the landfill and sort through the metal that sticks to it. Piece of cake.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Lol I think that would also wipe the HDD

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

That's the joke.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 hours ago

Probably why he is suing for damages now instead of access.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 hours ago

I’ve heard about this guy before but I didn’t realise it was already worth so much at the time he lost it. I do feel sorry for him as it must suck to know you lost that much money from a simple mistake