An inescapable cryptocurrency nightmare
In Newport, Wales, an information engineer named James Howells is caught up in an incredible cryptocurrency saga. In 2013, his ex-girlfriend Halfina Eddy-Evans accidentally threw away a hard drive containing about 8,000 Bitcoins, which were worth just £500,000 at the time, but have now skyrocketed to £599 million (about NT$24.4 billion), making it an astonishing wealth story.
All of this dates back to 2009, when cryptocurrency was just emerging, and James Howells spent 10 weeks mining Bitcoin. However, due to complaints from his girlfriend at the time—her laptop fan was too loud while it was running, affecting her sleep—he had to stop his mining work. Shortly after, a cup of lemonade accidentally spilled on his laptop, and despite his attempts to clean it, the computer could no longer function properly. Howells sold the computer parts but kept the hard drive, transferring photos and music files to an Apple computer.
Image Source: DailyMail James Howells spent 10 weeks mining Bitcoin.
A decade-long treasure hunt: from a careless throwaway to legal entanglement
The story goes back ten years when Howells carefully set aside a hard drive containing the cryptocurrency wallet keys while sorting through old items. However, during the cleaning process, he inadvertently asked his ex-girlfriend to throw away the bag containing the hard drive. Eddy-Evans recalled that Howells asked her to help deal with a few bags of trash, and she 'reluctantly' agreed, tossing one of the bags into the landfill. The problem was, she had no idea that the hard drive containing potentially life-changing wealth was inside the bag.
This fatal mistake led to the hard drive being buried in a landfill covering 110 acres and containing over 1.4 million tons of waste. Despite Howells repeatedly applying to the Newport City Council to search, proposing to use artificial intelligence and robotic excavation, and promising to donate a portion of any recovered Bitcoin to local charities, the council repeatedly rejected his requests on grounds of environmental protection and legal restrictions.
Image Source: DailyMail A panoramic view of the Newport recycling center.
Howells revealed that even if he had to search the entire landfill, he had narrowed down the possible locations of the hard drive to an area of 100,000 tons of waste. He firmly believes that finding this 'treasure' could completely change his fate, and it may even turn Newport into the 'Dubai or Las Vegas' of the UK.
Wealth and fate: the legal battle is not over
In desperation, Howells filed a $495 million lawsuit against the city council this October, claiming the council is preventing him from 'recovering his property.' The case is set to be adjudicated on December 3, 2024. With Bitcoin recently reaching a historic high of $80,000, this treasure hunt is attracting global attention.
His ex-girlfriend Eddy-Evans is already exhausted by this legal entanglement. In a media interview, she stated, 'I hope he finds the hard drive, not for the money, but so that he can stop talking about it. I'm tired of it.' She emphasized that she has nothing to do with this massive asset and does not even want to profit from it.
Image Source: DailyMail James Howells' ex-girlfriend Halfina Eddy-Evans
A spokesperson for Newport City Council insisted that, under environmental permits, they could not allow the excavation of the landfill, and this action would have a huge negative impact on the surrounding environment. Howells' claim is 'meaningless,' and the council will 'actively resist' this lawsuit.
This entanglement is not just a story about searching for a lost hard drive, but a complex struggle involving technology, wealth, obsession, and law. Regardless of the final outcome, this case will become one of the most memorable legends of the cryptocurrency era.
[Disclaimer] The market has risks, and investments should be made cautiously. This article does not constitute investment advice, and users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Investing based on this is at one's own risk.
'A single phrase made his girlfriend throw away Bitcoin! Has he found it after battling the landfill for ten years?' This article was first published in 'Crypto City.'
