A British computer expert, who inadvertently misplaced a hard drive containing 7,500 bitcoins, has initiated a legal action to compel the Newport City Council to permit him to search through the landfill where the storage device is believed to be buried. Anticipating a further increase in the value of the cryptocurrency, the expert said he […]
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Man Plans to Sue City Over Refusal to Dig for 7,500 Lost Bitcoin in Landfill
James Howells, a bitcoin enthusiast who misplaced 7,500 bitcoin (BTC) in a South Wales landfill, is gearing up to take legal action against the local city council for barring his efforts to unearth the missing hard drive from 2013. This former IT professional, now 38, has been at odds with Newport City Council for ten long years, rallying a 16-person crew to help retrieve the drive, now valued at 4 million.
Howells’ Legal Team Gives Newport City Council New Demands
A Telegraph report reveals that James Howells is gearing up to legally challenge the local city council in South Wales, which has denied his team permission to unearth a hard drive he suspects is buried beneath the landfill. Several years back, a hard drive laden with 7,500 of Howells’ bitcoin — now valued at 4 million based on today’s BTC exchange rates — inadvertently found its way into a landfill.
In a letter dispatched to the Newport City Council on September 4, Howells’ legal team sets a bold deadline: grant him digging rights by September 18. Determined, Howells is pushing for a judicial review regarding the council’s denial to grant him landfill access. Howells told Telegraph reporter Madeleine Ross:
I’ve tried everything I can for 10 years, they didn’t want to play ball, so now we have to go down the legal route … It doesn’t matter what that item is, whether it is bitcoin, gold, diamonds, to not even have the conversation is idiotic.
Howells has long been locked in a dispute with the city. Back in January 2021, he dangled an enticing offer before them: 25% of the BTC’s value if they permitted him to excavate to find the hard drive. Yet, that proposal fell on deaf ears.
Fast forward to July 2021, Howells unveiled an innovative strategy to the media, revealing plans to harness x-ray and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to pinpoint the device storing the BTC. In the latest interview with The Telegraph, he confirmed his commitment to those tech solutions and mentioned collaboration with the landfill’s seasoned retired site manager.
In his letter to the city council, Howells has also committed to bearing all excavation expenses and also pledges contributions to the city’s community. Notably, Ross highlighted that “external investors” are rallying behind Howells’ endeavor. “How would you feel if I was holding your property? Would you want it back? Would you try everything you could to get it back?” he asked during the interview. The man who lost 7,500 BTC at the dump said:
Do they want to spend £10,000 an hour to stop me [from] digging a hole? How can you explain that to the taxpayers of Newport in the current climate?
While the Odds of Recovery Are Slim, Recouping a 2013 Hard Drive Is Not Entirely out of the Realm of Possibility
The best-case scenario for a hard drive languishing in a landfill for a decade hinges on several fortuitous conditions. First, if the hard drive, by some stroke of luck, was encased in a protective covering or sealed bag when discarded, reducing exposure to the landfill’s corrosive elements.
Additionally, if it settled in an area with minimal moisture and chemical seepage, and wasn’t subjected to extreme pressures or temperatures, the device might have remained in a state of relative preservation. Now, even if the hard drive was retrieved in decent physical condition, data extraction remains a challenge. However, with the leaps in technology since 2013, state-of-the-art data recovery labs possess advanced techniques and equipment.
Should the hardware components show signs of degradation, experts might still be able to carefully replace or repair them, enhancing the prospects of successfully retrieving the stored data. The odds are long, but with the perfect alignment of conditions and expertise, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
What do you think about James Howells’ plan to sue the city council if they don’t let him dig? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Green Bitcoin Mining: Nodal Power Secures $13M for Landfill Gas Conversion
Utah-based Nodal Power, which specializes in turning landfill gas into energy for powering bitcoin (BTC) mining hubs, recently announced a successful million seed round backed by strategic investors. Bryan Black, Nodal’s CEO, stressed the technology’s “potential to make a significant impact on local energy markets.”
Nodal Power Raises M to Convert Landfill Gas to Bitcoin Mining Energy; Eyes Local Market Impact
Nodal Power, a company that converts landfill gas into energy for Bitcoin mining centers, has secured million in seed funding. This technology reduces methane gas emissions from landfills and uses that energy for mining. Nodal combusts the methane, typically flared or vented, with a generator. The resulting electricity is then provided to local utilities and BTC mining operations.
Nodal says a significant portion of the funding has been invested in building and operating two power plants in the United States. The first, in the Southeast, uses landfill gas to provide electricity to the nearby utility. It also features a bitcoin data center, promoting an economic balance between the bitcoin mine and the utility.
The company explained that the second plant, in the Mountain West, leads in creating a fully sustainable off-grid data center powered only by landfill gas. Plans are underway to invest additional funds in a third U.S. location by early 2024. All these facilities generate green electricity from methane, produced from organic waste decomposition in landfills.
“We’ve developed solutions, specifically for smaller landfills, that allow us to bring these overlooked resources to market,” CEO Bryan Black explained during the announcement. “Our technology and energy-first approach have the potential to make a significant impact on local energy markets.”
Using flared or vented gas for Bitcoin mining isn’t new. Companies such as Crusoe Energy, Vespene Energy, EZ Blockchain, and Alkane Midstream offer similar services. Publicly traded energy company Equinor reportedly used gas flaring for Bitcoin mining in North Dakota. YPF Luz, an Argentine oil subsidiary, powered bitcoin mining with residual gas.
What do you think about Nodal Power raising million from investors in a seed round? What do you think about landfill gas conversion to bitcoin mining? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
James Howells Considers Digging Up a Landfill to Find Lost Bitcoin
Remember that dude from 2013 who accidentally threw away his hard drive full of Bitcoin? Well, he’s back hitting headlines again as the recent surge in BTC price has encouraged him to restart his treasure hunt. He’s prepared to get his hands pretty dirty too… by digging up a landfill site.
James Howells from Newport, Wales was an early cryptocurrency miner. He started back in 2009 and had amassed some 7,500BTC by solving the complex equations used to secure the Bitcoin network. During a big cleanup of his home in 2013, the hard drive upon which he’d stored his private keys got mistakenly thrown out. The value of the cryptocurrency stored on it at the time was then several hundred thousand dollars. That was when Bitcoin was trading at around 0 a coin.
Today, with the price of Bitcoin being almost hundred times the 2013 figure, the hard drive is worth million. It’s therefore hardly surprising that the Newport-based IT worker is keen to be reunited with his stash. He’s now considering having the landfill excavated. This, of course, is no small job. Howells explained to The Independent:
A modern landfill is a complex engineering project and digging one up brings up all sorts of environmental issues such as dangerous gasses and potential landfill fires… It’s a big, expensive and risky project.
Howells had stopped mining long before Bitcoin started to grab headlines in quite the way it did during late 2013. He’d sold most of the components of the computer he’d used on eBay but was savvy enough to make sure he kept the hard drive containing his private keys. Unfortunately, during a clear-out, he believes that this ended up being put in a general waste bin at a local landfill site. This will then have been emptied onto the tip and will since have been buried by many tons of junk. Howells blames “family life and moving house” for the mishap.
Whilst it’s certainly the largest case of lost Bitcoins known about today, Howells’ tale isn’t the only example of such a colossal mistake. A similar story comes from the editor of Gizmodo Australia, Campbell Simpson, who threw around 1,400 BTC away back in 2012. When he’d originally bought the Bitcoin, they’d only cost him AUD. Today, buying such a quantity of the cryptocurrency would set you back almost million.
However, the largest cache of lost Bitcoin might be those of their original creator themselves. Recent research from the blockchain data-crunchers at Chainalysis hints that the one million Bitcoin reserved for Satoshi Nakamoto will most likely never enter the wider market. It’s believed that these are spread out over many thousands of wallets and their owner has either lost the private keys, or has since been killed. If the person or people behind Bitcoin are still alive, they’re either the dictionary definition of the perfect “hodler”, or kicking themselves much harder than either Campbell Simpson or James Howells.
Image: PixaBay
The post James Howells Considers Digging Up a Landfill to Find Lost Bitcoin appeared first on NEWSBTC.
James Howells Considers Digging Up a Landfill to Find Lost Bitcoin
Remember that dude from 2013 who accidentally threw away his hard drive full of Bitcoin? Well, he’s back hitting headlines again as the recent surge in BTC price has encouraged him to restart his treasure hunt. He’s prepared to get his hands pretty dirty too… by digging up a landfill site. James Howells from Newport, … Continue reading James Howells Considers Digging Up a Landfill to Find Lost Bitcoin
The post James Howells Considers Digging Up a Landfill to Find Lost Bitcoin appeared first on NEWSBTC.