Man throws hard drive with bitcoins to usd

In , a former partner of Howells had accidentally tossed the hard drive into the trash. Howells is trying to recover his Bitcoin tokens which could turn around his fortune and could make him an overnight billionaire. At the time, Minneapolis, US-based Ontrack had managed to recover 99 percent of the data - despite the hard drive being found in a dried-up lakebed six months after the incident. As per a report by news portal Mirror, Ontrack believes there are about 90 percent chances that Howell's Bitcoin data could be obtained if the hard drive has not cracked. Presently, this search mission has encountered snags from the authorities of Newport, Wales that are not permitting Howells to comb through the rubbish tip in the area. Howells has also offered a quarter of any fortune found to the Wales authorities, despite which the permissions have not come through as yet.

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Content:

• 'Time heals all wounds': Programmer at peace with losing $300m Bitcoin fortune
• The reason not to throw away old hard drives might be surprising — there could be bitcoin on there
• Man Searches Through Landfill For 8 Years For $350 Million Lost Bitcoin Wallet
• IT worker who threw £340million of Bitcoin in the bin hires NASA experts to find it
• Stories of Potential Bitcoin Millionaires and Their Losses
• Man Hires NASA-Linked Experts to Find Hard Drive With 7,500 Bitcoins Accidently Trashed
• Man who can't remember Bitcoin password says he's 'made peace' with $220M loss
• Missing: hard drive containing Bitcoins worth £4m in Newport landfill site
• UK man on a mission to find long-lost hard drive with bitcoin worth $280 million
• I accidentally threw away $60M worth of Bitcoin

WATCH RELATED VIDEO: This Man Threw Away Over $300 million worth of Bitcoins! Crazy Story!

'Time heals all wounds': Programmer at peace with losing $300m Bitcoin fortune

Whilst doing some Spring cleaning back in , a man threw his old PC hard drive into the trash, which quickly joined the mountain of rubbish at his local landfill site in Newport, Wales, UK. Once he realized, the man began a desperate search for the hard drive and has been searching ever since.

And he actually took me out in his truck to where the landfill site is, the current ditch they're working on. Why aren't I out there with a shovel now?

I think I'm just resigned to never being able to find it. After that conversation, Howells all but resigned to the fact his fortune would never be claimed. But soon after, he began a search himself and still believes there is hope that the drive is both reachable and readable in its likely deteriorated state.

In a last-ditch effort, he has now recruited residents of his local town to join the hunt, with the promise of millions if the search succeeds. Citing the ecological damage trawling through buried rubbish would cause, a lack of a permit to search the rubbish, and the sheer uncertainty that the hard drive even lays there, the council will not allow anyone to search the mounds, CNBC reports. This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By continuing to use our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our cookie policy.

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The reason not to throw away old hard drives might be surprising — there could be bitcoin on there

The resident of Newport, Wales has once again started his search for the drive and urged local city officials to let him dig through landfill sites. The man claims that he had two identical-looking hard drives and threw away the one which had the 'private key' required to access and spend the units of cryptocurrency stored on his computer while cleaning his office in A private key is a form of encryption, a digital signature that provides an algorithmic proof that the transaction was done by the owner. Bitcoin has a decentralised system operated by a network of computers. Every transaction is done through a wallet with a 'private key to encrypt and decrypt information.

Man Searches Through Landfill For 8 Years For $350 Million Lost Bitcoin Wallet

Then his mum made a very costly mistake. As he graduated and started to get on with his life — he eventually forgot about the coins. And then when he went back home to try and find his old laptop — which had been sitting broken for years. And despite his attempts to get his life back on track, he said the rising value of Bitcoin just deepened his depression. Some Redditors questioned whether his tale was true, but the anonymous user insisted it was accurate in the comments section. Former IT worker James Howell mined the cryptocurrency back in , well before its value skyrocketed. In a mix-up, he accidentally threw away the hard drive its access key was stored on. He said he lives in hope that the fluctuating and volatile cryptocurrency will crash again and never recover to ease some of his pain. Speaking of his reaction after finding out his mum had got rid of the laptop he said he lost his job as all motivation was sapped from him. The price of Bitcoin jumped about 4 per cent yesterday after the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk tweeted that he was having active discussions regarding the sustainability of the digital coin.

IT worker who threw £340million of Bitcoin in the bin hires NASA experts to find it

The device is now buried somewhere in a vast landfill site near the home of owner James Howells -- who only realized his mistake when it was too late. Every second of the day I am thinking about what could have been. Howells, whose ordeal was first reported by the Guardian , worked out the hard drive would have been taken to a local landfill site and visited the dump to speak to the manager. But the hopelessness of his task became clear when he was was told that finding he disk would take weeks even with a team of a dozen people and backhoes.

Stories of Potential Bitcoin Millionaires and Their Losses

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. James Howells amassed 7, bitcoins in , but disposed of the hard drive they were stored on earlier in after it sat unused in a drawer for three years. Howells — who says he'd "never thrown a hard drive out before" — had dismantled the computer he'd used to collect them after spilling a drink on it, eventually disposing of the drive in a "clearout of old IT equipment. Howells isn't optimistic about his chances of recovering his bitcoins.

Man Hires NASA-Linked Experts to Find Hard Drive With 7,500 Bitcoins Accidently Trashed

A man who claims he accidentally threw away a hard drive containing hundreds of millions of pounds in cryptocurrency has said he will give his local council one-quarter of the fortune if they let him dig it out of landfill. Mr Howells began mining bitcoin when they were first created in , accruing thousands of them at a time when they were worth just pennies. But the local authority has refused to let Mr Howells look for the hard drive, claiming that its licensing permit prevents excavation and that any attempt to find it could cost millions without any guarantee it would be recovered or even work. Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism. By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies.

Man who can't remember Bitcoin password says he's 'made peace' with $220M loss

IT worker James Howells got rid of the drive, which held a digital store of 7, bitcoins, between June and August in He had originally mined the virtual currency four years earlier when it was of little value. But when the cryptocurrency shot up in value and he went in search of it, he discovered that he had mistakenly thrown the hard drive out with the trash. Now, with his lost bitcoin having soared even further, Howells has approached Newport City Council in Wales to ask for permission to dig a specific section of the landfill site where he believes the hard drive ended up.

Missing: hard drive containing Bitcoins worth £4m in Newport landfill site

RELATED VIDEO: The search for a bitcoin hard drive worth $350 million lost in a landfill

We've all been there - brain fog makes us forget our password and after eight frantic attempts, we have just two left. His plight, reported in the New York Times , has gone viral. And experts are divided about whether it will continue to rise or crash. Mr Thomas, who was born in Germany but lives in San Francisco, was given 7, bitcoins as payment for making a video explaining how cryptocurrency works more than a decade ago.

UK man on a mission to find long-lost hard drive with bitcoin worth $280 million

James Howells at the Newport Amenity Centre and landfill site. IT worker James Howells got rid of the drive, which held a digital store of 7, bitcoins, between June and August in He had originally mined the virtual currency four years earlier when it was of little value. But when the cryptocurrency shot up in value and he went in search of it, he discovered that he had mistakenly thrown the hard drive out with the trash. Now, with his lost bitcoin having soared even further, Howells has approached Newport City Council in Wales to ask for permission to dig a specific section of the landfill site where he believes the hard drive ended up.

I accidentally threw away $60M worth of Bitcoin

Representative image. Photograph: Reuters. A man from Britain accidentally threw out a hard drive which had Bitcoins, only realising after it was lost. Bitcoin has new become the most sought after currency after its valuation skyrocketed in the recent weeks.