Owner of 8K bitcoin lost in landfill threatens to bankrupt local council

[larry_vw_1955]

https://protos.com/owner-of-8k-bitcoin-lost-in-landfill-threatens-to-bankrupt-local-council/

I think him lashing out at the city council and threatening to sue them doesn't make bitcoin look good. wherever his hard drive is, if it's in that trash dump i don't see how even a data recovery expert could get anything off of it. it's probably been crushed, cracked, corroded, etc. lost cause. his big mistake was throwing it away in the first place but that was his fault no one elses. he lost those bitcoin a long time ago. and they're not coming back. 

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[bayu7adi]

Regret can drive a person to the brink of obsession. He discarded it back in 2013, and as time passes, the likelihood of ever retrieving it diminishes. It might have been crushed amidst a heap of other refuse, or perhaps its components no longer function as they should.

He seems utterly fixated on that lost balance, even disregarding the ramifications of sifting through the accumulating trash.

If I were in his shoes, I too would likely harbor profound remorse for what transpired. 8K BTC is no trifling sum in today's context. It would undoubtedly impel me to act irrationally, diving headfirst into that landfill, meticulously scouring every fragment of refuse in search of it.

[davis196]

https://protos.com/owner-of-8k-bitcoin-lost-in-landfill-threatens-to-bankrupt-local-council/

I think him lashing out at the city council and threatening to sue them doesn't make bitcoin look good. wherever his hard drive is, if it's in that trash dump i don't see how even a data recovery expert could get anything off of it. it's probably been crushed, cracked, corroded, etc. lost cause. his big mistake was throwing it away in the first place but that was his fault no one elses. he lost those bitcoin a long time ago. and they're not coming back. 

Well, Bitcoin has nothing to do with this. The guy would have at least stored his private keys/seed phrase in a piece of paper inside his house.
This guy is blaming someone else for his own mistake. It's like forgetting a bag with 1 million US dollars in the subway and blaming the city council for your own stupidity. Some people really lose their minds, when it comes to money. Yeah, I know it sucks to lose such big amount of money, but the only thing to go is to just try to continue living with the regret and move on with your life. Those Bitcoins are gone for good.

[Hatchy]

I really like his determination to find his lost Bitcoin because 8k worth of Bitcoin now is around 207,006,400 USD in words is (Two hundred seven million six thousand four hundred). You can see how impatience could cause someone to loos a whole lot of fortune. I still don't know why he blames the local council and want to sue them because in First place, he was the one who trashed his hard drive. He should come to reality like for over a decade now, that drive definitely would never be found and if possible it must have been crushed and damaged.


 Being a Bitcoin holder teaches us the importance of patience. Bitcoin's value has gone up and down a lot since it started, and it can be unpredictable. But, we can learn from this story. Patience is the key to being a Bitcoin holder. If you hold onto your Bitcoin and don't get worried when the market goes up and down, your 1,000 Bitcoins today might be worth a lot more, like a million in the future. We can't be sure what will happen, but staying positive and HODL onto your Bitcoin is the key to success.

[Rikafip]

Lol l thought that guy gave up on his lost bitcoins but I guess he didn't. He has no chance to win that lawsuit and what's even worse is that he is dishonest, suing them for the amount equal to the highest value of his bitcoins, like he would sell them at exactly that time and not before. Chances are, he would have sell those bitcoins (or at least majorify of it) long time before 2021.

I think him lashing out at the city council and threatening to sue them doesn't make bitcoin look good.

The only one who ends up looking bad in this story is that guy, not bitcoin.

[Potato Chips]

The regret of throwing away the riches drove him nuts lmao

I've read the article and my dude lost his bitcoin wallet on 2013. Obviously, a lot has changed since then. It's nearly impossible he'll be able to recover anything, not to mention the amount of work it would take to dig that much.

Most importantly, the negative environmental impact it would cause

A spokesperson said, “The council has told Mr. Howells multiple times that excavation is not possible under our environmental permit, and that work of that nature would have a huge negative environmental impact on the surrounding area.”

He has no case. Better just buy BTC's again and hold.

[Poker Player]

The first thing that strikes me is that the article states:

James lost the BTC in 2013 after cleaning out his old office and throwing his bitcoin cold wallet into the trash.

I don't know what type of cold wallet you are referring to, as I looked up when the first HW was launched and it was in 2014.

In news of this style, the normal thing would be to talk about the PC or laptop, but as you say "cold wallet" I don't know exactly what they are referring to.

Lo l thought that guy gave up on his lost bitcoins but I guess he didn't. He has no chance to win that lawsuit...

Well, that would be if justice always acted with common sense, but that is not always the case. Sometimes the most surprising sentences are issued with long legal paragraphs to argue the sense of the ruling.

...and what's even worse is that he is dishonest, suing them for the amount equal to the highest value of his bitcoins, like he would sell them at exactly that time and not before. Chances are, he would have sell those bitcoins (or at least majorify of it) long time before 2021.

I completely agree on this, and I think the most likely scenario is that he would have sold much earlier, as did most who had Bitcoin in those years.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Another day, another funny story.

Him blaming the local council for his own fault is just ridiculous.

I wonder how much the 8k bitcoin were worth at the time for the costly error.
People blaming others for their own mishaps is a weak point in our society, nothing new.

Even if he follows through with his lawsuit, there is no way he will win. I mean what judge would side with such a crazy demand. If he wants to find his wallet he should start digging fast. 

[Silberman]

https://protos.com/owner-of-8k-bitcoin-lost-in-landfill-threatens-to-bankrupt-local-council/

I think him lashing out at the city council and threatening to sue them doesn't make bitcoin look good. wherever his hard drive is, if it's in that trash dump i don't see how even a data recovery expert could get anything off of it. it's probably been crushed, cracked, corroded, etc. lost cause. his big mistake was throwing it away in the first place but that was his fault no one elses. he lost those bitcoin a long time ago. and they're not coming back. 

This person is desperate, and while I am not an expert when it comes to the law, it does not seem as if he has any chance of winning the lawsuit, and the only one winning anything out of this will be his lawyer, now it is understandable that he is mad that he has missed what could have been the greatest opportunity of his life, but a decade has passed already and chances are he will never recover any bitcoin, and if he does not move on and learns to forget he will be really unhappy during the rest of his life.

[NotATether]

The first thing that strikes me is that the article states:

James lost the BTC in 2013 after cleaning out his old office and throwing his bitcoin cold wallet into the trash.

I don't know what type of cold wallet you are referring to, as I looked up when the first HW was launched and it was in 2014.

In news of this style, the normal thing would be to talk about the PC or laptop, but as you say "cold wallet" I don't know exactly what they are referring to.

If we are talking about the guy who threw away his hard drive, then his bitcoins were in a bitcoin core wallet, so that's not a cold storage or anything like that.

Although it's pretty crazy that he's going to take legal action against the dump, I mean for all purposes, he threw away the BTC and the hard disk must be destroyed by now, so it was his own negligence.

[Kakmakr]

I think I will also be a bit butthurt, if I could have access to $206 600 000 worth of Bitcoin and if I am denied to attempt to search for it.    This is a desperate person's attempt to scare the local municipality, in the hope that they will give in to his request.

I would have made them an offer to give them 50% of the money, if they gave me access and if I find it and were able to retrieve it. Like OP said.... most hard drives would have been destroyed by this time in such a harsh environment. (rust and corrosive elements) 

[n0ne]

To have self satisfaction Howells is trying to dig the trash and search for the lost hard disk. He had missed it, and soon after the same he had realised the mistake. Almost 10 years passed, soon after his request he could've been granted permission. Maybe he could've got lucky. Now its too late, even if he's allowed the chance for finding the hard disk and retrieve the information is very small.

[Lucius]

The story about this character keeps coming back like the most persistent boomerang, so I wonder if maybe we should even open a special board for him? Of course I'm not serious

I think him lashing out at the city council and threatening to sue them doesn't make bitcoin look good.

Do you really think his potential lawsuit could hurt Bitcoin in any way? I really don't see what would be bad for Bitcoin if someone files a lawsuit against the city authorities because they don't allow him to dig through tens or hundreds of tons of garbage and thus cause an environmental disaster for the people who live near the garbage dump?

..wherever his hard drive is, if it's in that trash dump i don't see how even a data recovery expert could get anything off of it. it's probably been crushed, cracked, corroded, etc. lost cause.

Probably so, but there is still a chance that that small piece of data that is the most important in the whole story could be saved. I think he would have given up already, but some experts think that something could be done with that hard disk in case it is found.

...his big mistake was throwing it away in the first place but that was his fault no one elses. he lost those bitcoin a long time ago. and they're not coming back. 

The information that he threw the HDD in the trash is incorrect, his partner did it, so for years everyone has been blaming poor James for something he didn't actually do.

What he doesn’t have, is permission from Newport town council to go digging around in their landfill site; they say that it’s potentially environmentally dangerous and that their permits don’t allow for it.  So for the time being, the wealth is notional.  Mr Howells has given up his job to concentrate full time on trying to organize the operation (and to speculate on conspiracy theories about what the local authority might not want to dig up there).  His relationship broke up a while ago, possibly because he couldn’t stop blaming his partner for being the one to actually throw the hard drive away, and he keeps an app on his phone which reminds him in real time of how much money he doesn’t have.

[Yogee]

An empty threat and I would be surprised if this ever goes to trial. I bet his legal team must be laughing behind his back but they still have to put up a case since they are getting paid whatever the outcome is.

He's able to come up with £11 million to cover the cost according to the article but he still wants to dig? Misplaced persistence.

[franky1]

bitcoin is not a stripper that had a bad botox reaction.. its not human it has no emotions. bitcoin doesnt have an opinion of how it looks or is treated

any drama is just temporary

[lovesmayfamilis]

It turns out that the drama continues. In addition to the fact that he lost a large amount of Bitcoins through his fault but does not want to come to terms with it, he also spends the money that he has left. Promising grandiose changes for the discovery of his disk, he looks somewhat self-confident; in Russian, there is an expression "to share the skin of an unkilled bear. " Over so many years, anything could have happened to his hard drive, from damage by water to various mixtures to anything else that the imagination can develop.
Surely we will soon see more sad news, either about his complete death from insanity or that he will be imprisoned to calm his ardor a little.

[pawanjain]

https://protos.com/owner-of-8k-bitcoin-lost-in-landfill-threatens-to-bankrupt-local-council/

I think him lashing out at the city council and threatening to sue them doesn't make bitcoin look good. wherever his hard drive is, if it's in that trash dump i don't see how even a data recovery expert could get anything off of it. it's probably been crushed, cracked, corroded, etc. lost cause. his big mistake was throwing it away in the first place but that was his fault no one elses. he lost those bitcoin a long time ago. and they're not coming back. 

I guess the guy is very desperate to recover his HDD from the landfill. The major concern here is that the council has already claimed that they are not sure if he would be able to find his HDD or not because it may or may not be there.
Even if he finds it out magically, there are very less chances that anyone would be able to recover his keys.
The amount is too huge to be lost but he should know that when he let his bitcoins go, he didn't value them.
So the Karma has kicked his butt. He didn't value his bitcoins back then and I guess this might be the reason why he won't be able to find his coins ever.

[Cricktor]

It sounds like a broken record, but "No backup, no mercy!" has its justification. By the time the harddisk disappeared it was very likely a legacy Bitcoin-GUI (now Bitcoin Core) wallet, no HD wallet. So there were individual random private keys in a keystore of certain size in that wallet. Making backups was kind of mandatory. Having the backups on the same storage device is like no backup at all, if you consider the risk of a failure of this particular storage device. On that part the owner has to blame himself.
AFAIR by end of 2012 Bitcoin was around 10$, by midth of 2013 somewhere in the region of 15$, thus having no separate and redundant backup for a value of 80,000-120,000$$ is completely irresponsible, to say the least.

I heard years ago about this story but can't say that I know the whole truth of it. If I had a harddrive with valuable data on it, I'd put it in a clearly labeled harddrive protection container that screams "don't throw me away" to my partner or anybody else. On that part the owner has to blame himself, too, I guess.

Though harddrives have a pretty sturdy metal frame, I doubt the harddrives from the era of around 2013 and earlier were sealed against water and much pressure on the thin top cover. If moisture gets in that's going to be a problem over the long time it can do its bad on the surfaces of the drive's platters.

Then the owner would also have the problem to remember the wallet password/passphrase and that it's not an easy one, if a data recovery company manages to scrape the data from the (corroded?) platters. What if they say "Sorry, pal, we couldn't recover your data, it was too badly corroded! But you have to pay the attempted data recovery anyway." while a malevolent recovery technician indeed managed to recover the wallet and now continues to break the wallet password/passphrase.
(Yes, I know, it's not going to work out for the technician because he can't move the coins without the owner getting to spot the lie. But after more years passing, more value, this might be a risk to take and prepare for.)

[Die_empty]

https://protos.com/owner-of-8k-bitcoin-lost-in-landfill-threatens-to-bankrupt-local-council/

I think him lashing out at the city council and threatening to sue them doesn't make bitcoin look good. wherever his hard drive is, if it's in that trash dump i don't see how even a data recovery expert could get anything off of it. it's probably been crushed, cracked, corroded, etc. lost cause. his big mistake was throwing it away in the first place but that was his fault no one elses. he lost those bitcoin a long time ago. and they're not coming back. 

James Howells is not giving up on his quest to retrieve his drive. I am astonished that he is willing to risk £11 million to fund the excavation. He should have kept this money he intended to risk instead of putting it in line to a near-impossible task. Maybe he has sponsors that are interested in the drive or he might be able to afford the cost. He intends to use equipment such as robot dogs and other Artificial intelligence tools to carry out the search and discovery. The government has refused to permit him because of the environmental hazards. Excavating landfill can lead to the emission of dangerous chemicals like methane and volatile organic compounds like Benzene and Ethylbenzene which has diverse health consequences.

[tbct_mt2]

I think him lashing out at the city council and threatening to sue them doesn't make bitcoin look good. wherever his hard drive is, if it's in that trash dump i don't see how even a data recovery expert could get anything off of it. it's probably been crushed, cracked, corroded, etc. lost cause. his big mistake was throwing it away in the first place but that was his fault no one elses. he lost those bitcoin a long time ago. and they're not coming back. 

The story about this guy has been circulating many years and he has yet given up his hope to rescue that disk and get his bitcoin back. It's hopeless because I am not him and I am realistic.

Years under a polluted landfill which is hazardous enough to destroy many things including hard drive. First, be realistic, it's nearly impossible to find that disk. Second, it is impossible to have a usable disk which can be restored data inside after being covered in a landfill many years.

He made many attempts and was rejected many times. Now he is mad and want to do some emotional attack but it does not make sense and won't succeed.

Landfill leachate is very toxic.