Man loses trash digging and HD search action with R$4.5 billion in Bitcoin

One of the most famous stories in the cryptocurrency world has come to an end after more than a decade. Englishman James Howells I was looking in the dumps for a hard drive containing the private key to my digital walletHe will not be able to dig where he thinks the missing equipment is still located today.

Howells, an IT technician who lives in Wales, was unsuccessful in his lawsuit against the City of Newport management. The boy sought judicial permission to search the dump, believing he would be successful in recovering the hard drive.

According to him, Nearly 8 thousand bitcoins are stuck in your digital wallet and can only be accessed with the private key located on the HD. Right now, The total value of cryptocurrencies reached $765 millionor R$4.52 billion in direct currency conversion and at the current exchange rate.

The saga of James Howells

It all started in 2013 when James made this news for the first time. That year, while cleaning with his ex-partner, he threw away a hard drive he deemed unusable and did not contain important data.

The boy said in reports at the time: Bitcoin mining around 2009It is still at the beginning of the cryptocurrency’s life and at a time when it has very little value. HE Saved .BAT file with private key on HD of one of several notebooksHowever, liquid spilled on the device and when he saw that it was not repairable, he decided to disassemble it.

James Separated some components of the laptop, including the HD, and stored the part in a drawer for about three years. Accidentally, Wrong disc thrown into garbage bag and even he didn’t appreciate it at the time.

Then the IT technician started hearing that Bitcoin was gaining value. cryptocurrencies were already worth $1,000 per unit. And only then did he realize that he had lost the HD with the key in it.

Newport landfill More than 1.4 million tons of waste capacity and covering 16 hectares (160 thousand m² or around 15 professional football fields). James believes that HD would be under about 100,000 tons of garbage in a given area.

Request denied

Over the years, Briton has asked the city of Newport to carry out excavations at the city’s landfill, where he believes HD is finally located. The request was always rejected, although he promised to pay for the equipment and the entire operation alone and then together with a group of investors.

After repeated denials the boy filed a lawsuit against the administrative council, requesting permission to conduct the excavation. However, the judge in the case rejected the possibility of the operation.

According to the decision, The realistic chances of James actually being able to recover the hard drive are very low. to be allowed.

Also the municipal law says The owner of the property handed over to the administration is the city.including municipal waste itself.

Excavations are still ongoing could have serious environmental consequences for the regionsuch as the release of gases and other substances that will harm the environment.

James’ side

In an interview with the BBC outside court, James said: “He didn’t even have a chance to explain himself or get justice.“. He wanted a formal hearing that would explain his full case.

“This has nothing to do with greed, I’d be happy to share the receipts, but No one in a position of power ever had a proper conversation with me. Decision He took everything from me and left me nothing. “The great British judicial system has been hit again,” he complained.