Summary

James Howells lost 8,000 Bitcoins worth over £500 million when he accidentally threw away a hard drive containing his private key.

He has been trying to retrieve the hard drive from a Newport landfill for over a decade, but the council has refused to allow him access.

Howells is now suing the council for £495 million in damages.

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It’s been over 10 years. Even if he found it, what is the likelihood any data could still be retrieved from a hard drive that’s been buried in landfill for that long?

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26 points

Probably why he is suing for damages now instead of access.

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17 points

Pretty good actually. But the odds of finding it are basically nil. A needle in a haystack would actually be easier.

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21 points

He just needs to drag an incredibly powerful magnet through the landfill and sort through the metal that sticks to it. Piece of cake.

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-2 points

Lol I think that would also wipe the HDD

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