--- title: "Man Who Lost $180 Million Bitcoin Hard Drive 9 Years Ago Still Trying to Dig Through Trash" description: "A crypto enthusiast wants to dig through a landfill to recover a tossed hard drive, which he says contains roughly $180 million worth of Bitcoin." date: "2022-08-02" modified: "2022-08-02" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/man-lost-million-bitcoin-hard-drive-dig-trash" categories: - "Bitcoin" - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "bitcoin" - "landfills" - "the digest" --- # Man Who Lost $180 Million Bitcoin Hard Drive 9 Years Ago Still Trying to Dig Through Trash ![A crypto enthusiast wants to dig through a landfill to recover a tossed hard drive, which he says contains roughly $180 million worth of Bitcoin.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Get Over It Moving on is hard. Just ask UK-based IT engineer James Howells, who, almost a decade ago, [accidentally threw away a hard drive]() containing over $180 million worth of Bitcoin — and is still clinging onto hope that it's recoverable. Howells mistakenly chucked the hard drive, which allegedly contains about 8,000 Bitcoin, back in 2013, well before the cryptocurrency shot up in both popularity and value. By today's standards, whatever's on that hard drive — if it even turns on — is worth a lot, just under $184 million to be precise. Since [early last year](), Howells has been lobbying the Newport city council to let him comb through all of the landfill's trash in order to find it. Most recently, he claimed to have secured funding and a top-notch, trash-digging team to support the hunt — but [as the *BBC* reports](), the council [has once again]() rejected his search citing environmental concerns. ## One Man's Trash Among claims that his newly-assembled team boasts environmental experts, Howells' most recent plea to the council outlined plans [to incorporate assistive AI and robot dogs]() in the effort. "We've basically got a well-rounded team of various experts, with various expertise, which, when we all come together, are capable of completing this task to a very high standard," the IT tech told the *BBC*. To sweeten the pot, Howells offered to put ten percent of the recovered Bitcoin into crypto-based town projects, including a [clean energy-powered crypto mining site](), a one-time handout to all residents of $61 worth of crypto, as well as access to crypto-based sales terminals in all local shops. But that's all predicated on Howells finding the damn drive and discovering that it still works. Then there's the fact that the outlook of the crypto market is [looking less than stellar]() these days. Shockingly, the city still won't let Howells' team dig up the town's landfills. "Part of this is managing the ecological risk to the site and the wider area," a council spokesperson told the *BBC*. "Mr. Howells' proposals pose significant ecological risk which we cannot accept, and indeed are prevented from considering by the terms of our permit." **READ MORE:** [*Bitcoin: Missing hard drive could fund Newport crypto hub*]() \[*BBC*\] **More on crypto woes:** [*Man Wakes Pregnant Wife to Tell Her He Lost $100,000 on Crypto*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()