This real story is not just an example of sheer human-will; it is an important “canary in the coal mine” lesson for us to see the value of self-owned code/cryptography…No one is digging up a land fill for cash they buried years ago (not anymore at least—not worth the squeeze)!!
This story also highlights the IMPORTANCE of COLD STORAGE—OWN YOUR KEYS—GET ORGANIZED!
That way, even if you lost your hard drive or other device, you have your keys, your seeds and can restore the wallet on a different device!
In Howells’s case, it definitely was not backed up or written down…
James Howells, a 28-year-old IT engineer and early Bitcoin enthusiast, is tidying his home office. Amid the clutter of obsolete gadgets, he mistakes a hard drive for a blank one and tosses it into the bin. Unbeknownst to him, that drive holds the private keys to a digital wallet containing 8,000 Bitcoins (can you imagine…)—mined in the cryptocurrency's nascent days when each coin was worth mere pennies…
BRIEF FORWARD
Read my archive with detailed letters that tie into the heart of this story: [The Power of Self-Hosting Postgres with Docker (2025)], [3 Tons of BTC Mining Rigs Move From China (2021)], [Proof of Work (PoW) Explained (2021)] [Bitcoin is Becoming the Global Reserve (2021)], & [Withdraw From the System (2025)]
By the time he realizes his error months later, the refuse has been hauled to the sprawling Docksway landfill, a vast expanse of waste.
What followed was a decade-long quest laced with desperation and determination. Howells petitioned the Newport City Council for permission to excavate, offering them a share of the recovered wealth—estimated to be worth hundreds of millions.
He assembled a team of experts, including data recovery specialists and even former NASA engineers, proposing AI-guided searches and robotic dogs to sniff out the drive.
Yet, bureaucratic hurdles loomed large: concerns over pollution, legal liabilities, and the sheer improbability of locating a palm-sized device amid 110,000 tons of annual garbage buried under layers of earth.
Court battles ensued. In 2024, Howells sued the council for £495 million (the then-value of his lost coins), only to lose the case. Undeterred, by early 2025, he floated an audacious plan: purchasing the entire landfill outright to conduct his search unimpeded—this guy knows the same things I try to show you.
As of this writing, his Bitcoin hoard—if intact—would command nearly $960 million, with each coin trading at over $121,022. It's a modern Midas touch turned curse: wealth within reach, yet entombed in a monument to oversight.
Howells finally gave up his search after more than a decade…
Forgotten Fortunes: Why These Tales Will Multiply, Even for Lesser Stakes
Howells' plight is emblematic, but far from unique. Estimates suggest that up to 20% of all Bitcoin—roughly 4 million coins—is irretrievably lost due to similar mishaps: deceased owners without heirs, forgotten seed phrases, or hardware failures.
As Bitcoin's value climbs, even fractional amounts transform into life-changing sums. A single lost Bitcoin today is worth a luxury car; tomorrow, perhaps a home.
Even "less Bitcoin"—say, 0.1 BTC—could soon equate to $20,000 if predictions hold.
Imagine the tales we'll hear: the investor who formatted an old phone holding Bitcoin, or the trader whose seed phrase vanished in a house fire. These aren't just financial losses; they're emotional craters, echoing Howells' lament: "It's like winning the lottery and then losing the ticket.”
As crypto evolves, so must our safeguards—hardware wallets, multi-signature setups, and estate planning for digital assets.
Yet, human nature remains constant: oversight, haste, and hubris will ensure that landfills, both literal and metaphorical, continue to claim their share.
Will you learn from this lesson?…
(My next letter will explain, in detail, how to use cold storage devices that utilize BIP39).
God-Willing, see you at the next letter
GRACE & PEACE