Lose your keys, lose your crypto

[searcher]

Neat read. No clue how true it is. It's on DM, lots of pics, etc. May not want to open on phone.

Inside the landfill hiding £1.5bn in Bitcoin: Security teams and cameras guard dump around the clock over fears treasure hunters could try to DIG it up after computer expert accidentally threw crypto fortune in bin​

A landfill hiding £1.5billion in Bitcoin is being guarded round the clock with a network of video cameras to keep out metal detectors hoping to strike lucky.

Early crypto investor James Howells, 38, made the calamitous mistake of accidentally throwing away 8,000 Bitcoins ten years ago and is now launching a legal fight to get them back.

A misunderstanding saw his partner throw away the only hard drive containing the access to his crypto assets - which has now rocketed in value to more than £450m - as he had been temporarily storing it in a black bin bag.

Distraught James has been trying to recover the disc from the council run dump ever since and has narrowed the potential search down to an area which would mean excavating 100,000 tonnes of rubbish buried under the grassy hills.

However, a strict security cordon is in place at the the Newport Household Waste Recycling Centre in South Wales after the council refused him permission.

Read the rest:

Inside the council protected landfill hiding £1.5bn in Bitcoin

Early crypto investor James Howells, 38, made the calamitous mistake of accidentally throwing away 8,000 Bitcoins ten years ago.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[pmbug]

I split the post out for a dedicated thread. It's a cautionary tale for anyone dabbling in crypto. You need to take care with securing your keys/passwords for the long haul.

 

[CopperSilverGold]

Sounds similar to a boating accident.

 

[Goldhedge]

One might need an Elon Musk Neuralink to have 'Commander Data's' memory ability when dabbling in crypto...

 

[Peter89]

Sounds similar to a boating accident.

No because usually you can rent a submarine and go down there, in a recovery expedition.
But once you lose the keys, the coins are gone for good.
This thought kept me away from btc back then

 

[pmbug]

One might need an Elon Musk Neuralink to have 'Commander Data's' memory ability when dabbling in crypto...

Precisely because very few people have Eidetic memory, most people store key/password info on hard drives, USBs, etc. The guy in the OP had the info stored on a hard drive which apparenty got tossed into the trash. Secure storage for a hard drive needs to be considered if you have a decent investment to protect.

This issue is why I recommend anyone using the Ledger Nano to also get the Cryptotag Zeus. The Cryptotag Zeus let's you store your seed phrase (master password) encoded on titanium plates that should survive the test of a lifetime easily.

 

[searcher]

British Man Who Lost 7,500 BTC Sues for Right to Search Council Landfill​

James Howells, a British computer expert whose ex-partner accidentally discarded a drive containing 7,500 bitcoins (BTC), has initiated a legal action to compel Newport City Council to permit him to search a landfill where he believes the cryptocurrency is located. A group of hedge fund investors is reportedly financing Howells’ potentially expensive lawsuit.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, the investors stand to receive a portion of the lost BTC if and when Howells successfully recovers them. In addition to financing the lawsuit, which is slated to be filed in the High Court, the hedge fund investors have assembled a team of search specialists and data recovery engineers.

More:

British Man Who Lost 7,500 BTC Sues for Right to Search Council Landfill – Featured Bitcoin News

Anticipating a further increase in the value of BTC, the computer expert said he only wants to be given the chance to find the lost coins.

news.bitcoin.com