The council and authorities of New Port argued that removing the city dump like that would damage the environment. Although Howells recruited NASA experts to meet their demands, they have repeatedly pointed out that recovering the 7,500 Bitcoins is infeasible.
Nine years ago, James Howells accidentally discarded a hard drive containing his wallet with 7,500 Bitcoins. He has been struggling to obtain the permits to recover the cryptocurrencies he had mined.
Despite meeting with the council and authorities of New Port in south Wales to find solutions, the computer engineer has not yet succeeded. They argued that removing the city dump in that way would cause environmental damage.
The degree of that task complicates the recovery of his funds, although there have been many initiatives. Howells hopes two robotic dogs in which he has invested around USD 10.77 million can help him.
Howell Has an Ambitious Plan to Recover His Bitcoin Holdings
Since Bitcoin is trading at around USD 23,930, his lost funds would amount to about USD 179 million. Two venture capital investors allowed Howells to finance the investment of nearly USD 11 million.
The two robotic dogs would search through the garbage in the landfill for his hard drive. They would carry a traveling closed circuit of cameras to identify it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these robots have worked on tasks such as grazing.
Howells called the two robotic dogs Satoshi and Hal to honor Satoshi Nakamoto and the first recipient of a Bitcoin payment. Besides funds and coverage, he needs the authorization to remove the garbage from the landfill, treat it, and classify it.
Since the engineer first contacted the city council of New Port in 2013, their response has been blunt. In addition, they are worried about who could cover the expenses amounting to millions of US dollars for just sorting the waste.
Although Howell has offered to give the council 25% of the value residing on the hard drive, they have held this position. Besides, he would give the two venture capital investors much of the other 75%.
His Plan to Search for His Bitcoins Would Have Consequences
This task has a bleak economic outlook unless Bitcoin reaches its all-time high again and Howells finds his lost 7,500 Bitcoins.
The city council has repeatedly pointed out that recovering the 7,500 Bitcoins is infeasible. According to the authorities, the procedure could become too long and expensive, although Howells recruited NASA experts to meet their demands.
The computer engineer said that he had brought together experts in the field to refute the City Council. He added that he had spoken with data recovery experts who have worked on the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
Howells has also requested three-month feasibility studies to allay concerns about who might bear the expenses. He estimates that he could find the lost hard drive within 9 to 12 months.
Despite all his efforts, Howells is still waiting for the authorities to allow him to remove waste at the New Port landfill with his robotic dogs.
Bitcoin is trading at USD 23,839 and has accumulated a 5.4% gain over the last week. Its daily trading volume is above USD 40.35 billion, while its market capitalization is about USD 457.27 billion, according to CoinGecko.
By Alexander Salazar
