Friday Frivolity: 8000 Bitcoins in a Welsh Tip (Garbage Dump)
A quick one.
Back in 2021, we shared the story of James Howells, an early Bitcoin miner whose then-partner mistook his Bitcoin-laden hard drive for rubbish and put it in the trash. Ever since, Howells has been trying to get he Newport City Council to give him access to the tip so that he could fish out his hard drive. The members of the council would no be budged.
Now, Mr. Howells is in the news again. Steven Morris, writing in The Guardian, reports that the tip is now to be closed and capped. Mr. Howells next move is to attempt to purchase the tip. Presumably he can get investors to back him, as the hard drive, if it indeed contains 8000 Bitcoins, is now worth $800 million or thereabouts. Mr. Howells is quite convinced the drive is there. Is it still readable? Lots of uncertainty, but perhaps a worthwhile risk for an angel investor who doesn’t mind rooting about in mounds of garbate (or paying others to do so).