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

[robelneo]

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. 

They have a good and valid reason to turn down the request for one the council stated

“may or may not be in our landfill site.”

it's like looking for a needle in a haystack without guarantee of finding it


And second

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.”

Even if he takes it to court the court will favor the council because of the possible harm and he may end up being charged by the city council because of the harm.

James Howells must have anticipated that Bitcoin could reach $1 million in a few years and he needs to take action now but I doubt if he can do that, he will have to regret his action of throwing his hard drive ten years ago for the rest of his life. 

[Emmanuelex]

If it's really been a long time since they threw the hard drive away, then there are no chances of finding it at all 

Even if there is, it's going to be a very slim chance, like looking for a pin in a river, where do you even start? It's nobody's fault they threw it away. This should serve as a lesson to others, and they should learn to keep their properties right. I have some old drives I am not using, but I still kept them because I might need them. You only throw something away when you're hundred percent it's useless.

[0t3p0t]

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 think suing is not the solution on this because win or lose that HDD won't appear when the judge has to give his or her final decision. Let me just say he is just so unlucky that he threw away his fortune.

[moneystery]

his actions were like a child whining about something he lost and scolding his parents for the mistakes he had made. he should be aware that the actions he took were very stupid and he should be embarrassed to sue the local council because of his own mistakes.

instead of whining for these 10 years, why doesn't he invest in bitcoin again? in fact, if he invested in bitcoin in the past 5 years he should be able to make quite a profit and he wouldn't need to embarrass himself in public. very stupid.

[ChiBitCTy]

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. 

How does this make bitcoin look bad in any way shape or form? I don't think this makes bitcoin look bad personally.  This story though has been a common tale over the years. I feel like I'm hearing stories like this at least several times a year.

I feel bad for the guy, but be more careful with your valuable assets! I can understand too why the city council is not allowing him to go search for it.

[sokani]

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 feel for the dude but honestly I am not sorry for him. There's an adage that says never make the same mistake twice. The mistake he made some years ago, he's about repeating it the second time. He's in this ugly situation because he was impatient and couldn't hold on to his Bitcoin. So lashing out and threatening to sue the local council is not the best approach, should keep waiting and hope that he's given approval to excavate the land. If he does go ahead with the lawsuit I wonder what will be the legal ground... Obstruction of accessing personal belonging? I'm sure he's not going to win.

[JunaidAzizi]

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. 

Some people lose their minds if they earn more money and they cannot think of what he is doing right or wrong. I would not be doing such stupidity to store such a big fund of Bitcoin in a single wallet If I stored it then I would be very careful about my wallet and yeah I would put it in a safe for security purposes so that nobody can touch or steal it.
He needs to be going onwards and don't think about the loss. You have a family and you have to start something other instead of sitting in a corner and crying for your lost Bitcoin.

[coolcoinz]

The more I think about it this guy's only hope for sanity is some sort of total amnesia. As far as I remember his story he was very early denied to search for his harddrive at times where it would've been quite likely to find the device intact, at least not yet corroded. With every year of time passed chances grow higher that corrosion destroys data and recovery of those diminishes.

To my knowledge (sorry, no sources) he got investors who gamble for their share of the 8k BTC treasure. Despite all odds there are serious trust issues if he were allowed to search the landfill. Everyone participating in the search likely knows what treasure might be left stored in the search item. Doing all by machines and today's common buzzwords only sounds like sci-fi and you don't want to miss your opportunity, you've got likely only one chance. Yada, yada, yada...

And yes, if he would find the device, could have the data restaured, he'd be such an exposed known person that he'd likely be subject to worse or worst things even if he could keep only a half, third or quarter of the treasure after paying out his investors.

What a sad life's story. Total amnesia and relocation is his only rescue, I guess.

I agree, it's going to destroy him, unless he gets some psychiatric help. His life must be one big regret. I doubt that he can live a normal life and enjoy it unless he deals with this loss and moves on.

i don't want him to ever be allowed onto that landfill. under any circumstances.

Is that your landfill? Why would you care about some random guy digging in a pile of garbage somewhere? I feel like everybody should be allowed to do these things as long as they aren't making other people's lives harder. Finding the drive could make some people happy, so why not allow them to do what they want with their lives.

[Agbe]

Since he was the one who lost the hard-drive, he wouldn't need to sue anyone in the court because the mistake was from him. And if the waste (garbage) packers saw the device and picked they would not know that such amount of bitcoins were inside or condemn iron picker has taken it, so since he didn't know who really picked it there is no way he can just sue the council. And since he lost it for a very long time, they have spoiled it unless the person is using it to store his personal information (data). And because of all these over excitements, some people decided not to over rich and over poor but just decided to be in the middle. When someone get money suddenly, with the over excitement at the time of the receiving the money, high blood pressure killed them. And I believe he did the mistake because he was excited at that time.

[buwaytress]

Yeah, I don't admire him, and even if I harboured some sympathy, it's all gone when he did this (if true).

Ten years is a lot of time. I hope he comes to terms with it, hope he moves on, realises he's lost a good part of his youth. No need to waste more. Hire a company, pay them, get a move on.

Easier said than done, of course, I'd probably have wasted years doing what he did.

[larry_vw_1955]

Is that your landfill?

it's the public's landfill, not his.

Why would you care about some random guy digging in a pile of garbage somewhere?

maybe other people lost things they don't want someone else digging up. this guy would just be having free reign over everybody's trash.

I feel like everybody should be allowed to do these things as long as they aren't making other people's lives harder.

but that's just the point, it makes everyone's lives harder. and for no good reason. except to make one man happy? i dont think that's a good enough reason why they should dig up a bunch of trash and maybe expose the public to a bunch of toxins that could get released into the air or water.

Finding the drive could make some people happy, so why not allow them to do what they want with their lives.

there has to be a limit on that though. you can't just let people go digging up landfills looking for stuff.

[Gallar]

~Snip

he lost those bitcoin a long time ago. and they're not coming back.  

If you look at how long the bitcoin wallet has been missing, I think OP's words are very correct. As you can imagine, this person's wallet/hard disk was lost in 2013, and until now in 2023 the hard disk has not been found. So if the hard disk ends up in a landfill, there are many possibilities that could happen. It's like the hard disk is damaged and its shape is no longer intact, because it was crushed by the existing rubbish. Or someone has found the hard disk and perhaps kept the hard disk. So in essence, looking at all these factors, the chances of finding a hard disk containing his Bitcoin wallet are very, very small.

But in reality, Howell has not given up looking for the hard disk containing his bitcoin assets. Because I can understand this, because you can imagine, if the bitcoins were not lost and sold when the bitcoin price reached ATH several years ago. Of course James Howel was already a very rich man. However, this really failed and James might have to end up daydreaming and would definitely be haunted by the shadow of his success if the bitcoins he had were not lost. So, in my personal opinion, the best way to do it right now is to release those lost bitcoins.

Even though the reality is bitter, a way out still needs to be taken.
Because don't let James get sick and that would be more dangerous than losing bitcoin.

[larry_vw_1955]

But in reality, Howell has not given up looking for the hard disk containing his bitcoin assets. Because I can understand this, because you can imagine, if the bitcoins were not lost and sold when the bitcoin price reached ATH several years ago. Of course James Howel was already a very rich man. However, this really failed and James might have to end up daydreaming and would definitely be haunted by the shadow of his success if the bitcoins he had were not lost. So, in my personal opinion, the best way to do it right now is to release those lost bitcoins.

i wonder if Mr. Howell knows any of the bitcoin ADDRESSES. That would certainly help build sympathy to his case. but i doubt he does. but if it's really 8000 bitcoin it shouldn't be too hard to find an old bitcoin address with an untouched balance of 8000 bitcoins.

[nutildah]

The more I think about it this guy's only hope for sanity is some sort of total amnesia.

I think you're on to something here. At the very least, maybe he could get some kind of "mild" lobotomy that would prevent him from continuing to care so much about what happened.    But you know, Laszlo "the Pizza Guy" seems to have made peace with what he did over the years. At least he got a couple of pizzas out of the deal.

As far as I remember his story he was very early denied to search for his harddrive at times where it would've been quite likely to find the device intact, at least not yet corroded. With every year of time passed chances grow higher that corrosion destroys data and recovery of those diminishes.

Or even worse, that it can't be found because its not even there, or where they thought it was.

i wonder if Mr. Howell knows any of the bitcoin ADDRESSES. That would certainly help build sympathy to his case. but i doubt he does. but if it's really 8000 bitcoin it shouldn't be too hard to find an old bitcoin address with an untouched balance of 8000 bitcoins.

Seems like an important piece of the puzzle, so I looked it up, and indeed there is such an address that appears to belong to him:

https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/addresses/BTC/198aMn6ZYAczwrE5NvNTUMyJ5qkfy4g3Hi

I should send it some Rare Pepes  

[benalexis12]

Is it still possible to recover or retrieve the hard drive that was thrown in the trash? If I think about 8000 bitcoins just lost because they were thrown in the trash, it hurts the bangs a bit too much, to be honest. To this day, I still think that the person who fixed the office had no idea, and then the person who cleaned it seemed to have no idea that there was Bitcoin on the hard drive. But anyway, let's move on to this situation; we can't go back to the past, and I hope this becomes a lesson learned for them because the value of Bitcoin is not really a joke, to be honest.

[Jet Cash]

It is unlikely to have gone to landfill. I belive they scan the tgrash to remove metal, and that goes to the scrappie. Failing that, some of the stuff that goes to the tip gets resold for reuse. So the drive could have been reformated and strill running in a refurbished pc. If I lived in Wales, I'd be checking my drives as I have got a lot of second hand ones.

[Trawda]

I expect that there is a possibility to recover data from the hard drive even if it has been severely damaged. I believe that there is a technology that allows data to be recovered in such cases, but it is very expensive.

With such a large amount of Bitcoin on the hard drive, it is certain that this unlucky person would not mind paying hefty additional costs to recover his Bitcoin.

[DeathAngel]

This guy needs to give up, it’s his own stupid fault. He threw it out years ago, like the OP said it’s probably totally destroyed. Even if isn’t, he can pay himself to exhume no doubt thousands of tonnes of shit pressed deep into the earth to try & find it. I don’t see how this anybody else’s fault or responsibility except his.

[Lucius]

This guy needs to give up, it’s his own stupid fault. He threw it out years ago...
~snip~

When you read only the first post and the title, you can write nonsense without even realizing it - because how many times does it have to be repeated that it was not he who threw the HDD in the trash, but his partner at the time. Commenting without knowing some basic facts is sometimes more stupid than what happened to that poor guy.


In addition, no one mentioned that James claims that his HDD also contains an IP address from Satoshi and that he was one of the first six people mining at the time. And now we have to believe that Satoshi was so reckless as to reveal his real IP address - to me, that information seemed just like an attempt for James to attract even more attention and maybe charge for a few more interviews.

The lost hard drive also contains “the real IP address of satoshi as well as the wallet file,” adding: “not that I would dox satoshi ?”.

[tread93]

Bro has lost it completely. My story goes to 2010 when I first had the opportunity to buy 200 BTC for $20 and I'm doing okay over here where I'm at just barely paying all my bills and entertainment lol. Now I have a like .1 BTC total lol. Such is life. My plan is to just earn more by means of forming a company that only accepts crypto, but I've never really had a start up so thank God we have AI lol