Hard drive that could provide access to 8,000 bitcoins is buried at the dump.

Summary

A UK judge has dismissed James Howells’ legal attempt to excavate a Newport landfill to recover a hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins, now valued at $765 million.

The court ruled against Howells due to environmental risks, ownership laws favoring the landfill authority, and a statute of limitations barring the claim.

Howells accidentally disposed of the drive in 2013, sparking his long battle to retrieve it.

He criticized the decision as unjust, while the council maintained excavation would endanger public health and breach regulations.

  • @NotMyOldRedditName
    2•18 hours ago

    Seed phrases weren’t a thing until 2013

    2013 Seed phrase words come from a standardized word list defined by Bitcoin Improvement Proposal #39 (aka BIP39). This proposal was introduced in 2013 to simplify and improve the process of backing up and recovering Bitcoin wallets.