30s Summary

James Howells’ ex-partner, Halfina Eddy-Evans, admitted to disposing of a hard disk containing 8,000 Bitcoin, worth over $716 million. This was, however, done on Howells’ instruction as he was decluttering computer parts. He has been trying to recover his lost Bitcoin from the landfill site, but his requests have been denied by the Newport City Council due to environmental and logistical concerns. Howells has now sued the Council for £495 million ($647 million) for denying his requests. The saga serves as a reminder about the importance of securely storing cryptocurrencies.

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James Howells’ missing fortune of $716 million in Bitcoin, which went off the grid almost 10 years back due to being dumped in a Welsh landfill, continues to spin more tales.

The latest update? His ex-partner, Halfina Eddy-Evans, admits to being the one who pitched the hard disk storing a whopping 8,000 Bitcoin. But don’t raise your eyebrows yet, this was done on the request of Howells himself!

While talking to the Daily Mail, Eddy-Evans explained that she simply followed Howells’ instruction to dispose of the hard drive, so technically, it’s not her fault that the Bitcoin got lost.

This tale from Howells’ past is a friendly reminder on why it’s uber crucial to handle your digital wealth like cryptocurrencies properly to save yourself from a major financial loss down the line.

Back in 2013, Howells accidentally trashed the hard drive while decluttering a pile of unwanted computer parts. Since Bitcoin wasn’t worth a fortune back then compared to today’s rates, the growing nest egg on his drive remained unnoticed.

Eddy-Evans, his then-partner, took the drive to a landfill as per Howells’ wish to get rid of the “unwanted stuff”. Little did anyone know that they were throwing away a fortune, literally!

The drive had 8,000 Bitcoin that Howells had mined in 2009 when Bitcoin was worth less than a dollar each. Today, it’s way more valued, which makes the lost fortune worth more than $716 million.

After discovering the screwed-up truth, Howells tried to recover his lost Bitcoin from the landfill site. However, his appeals to the Newport City Council for excavation fell on deaf ears.

The authorities reasoned that going through a heap of 110,000 tons of waste posed environmental risks and enormous logistical headaches.

Howells, however, refused to be knocked down. He came forward to bear the excavation costs and even floated an $11 million plan to retrieve the lost Bitcoin. He also promised to donate 10% of the reclaimed money to the council. Unfortunately, the council asserted that such an operation could violate their environmental license.

Not one to be defeated easily, Howells decided to sue the Newport City council for a whopping £495 million (around $647 million) for denying his multiple requests.

This whole fiasco brings out the importance of proper storage when you’re dealing in cryptocurrency. If you don’t want to end up being the next Howells, make sure you store your funds securely.

Some options include keeping them in a crypto wallet online or via an app, or using a hardware wallet — what people often call a “cold wallet”. It’s absolutely paramount to store private keys and recovery options offline to avoid falling prey to online fraudsters.

Also remember to keep multiple copies of recovery phrases and private keys in various secure places, such as safe deposit boxes or encrypted digital storage. That’s one way to protect your digital wealth and avoid financial losses.