British engineer James Howells accidentally trashed a hard drive containing 7,500 Bitcoins in 2013. Howells does not give up hope of regaining his lost fortune. He announced his new plan, involving two robot dogs, to reclaim cryptocurrencies.
The hard drive with millions of dollars of Bitcoin is in the garbage!
As we reported on Kriptokoin.com, James Howells has devised a plan involving two robot dogs to recover the hard drive, which at the time of this writing was worth approximately $176 million. The dogs will be responsible for combing a landfill in Newport, UK. They will be equipped with 24-hour CCTV cameras to protect the area at night. James Howells agreed with two European venture capitalists for this. In this context, it managed to secure approximately $11 million in potential funding.
Even if James Howells manages to find the enviable hard drive, there’s no guarantee his Bitcoins can be recovered. The fate of his fortune depends on whether the platter, the circular disk on which data is stored, survives. Howells says that if this component is severely damaged, there will be a very small chance of recovering the crypto stored on the hard drive. Despite losing his fortune early on, the cryptocurrency enthusiast has not given up on Bitcoin. Howells says in an interview that he continues to trade for a living.
Robot dogs will be used to search for hard drives in the dump
James Howells’ plan includes purchasing two robotic ‘Spot’ dogs from Boston Dynamics. Under the plan, it allocates funds for dogs that go on sale in June 2020 for $74,500 each. In the interview, Howells said in particular that the robots will be used both to provide security by acting as roaming CCTV cameras and to search for his stolen hard drive.
He said the business will need the use of two dogs, one to be a watchdog and the other to recharge its batteries. In addition, the investor announced that he would like to name the robot dogs “Satoshi” and “Hal” if the project is successful. Hal Finney was the first person to be on the receiving end of a Bitcoin transaction. Satoshi Nakamoto is a nickname meaning the person or group that invented Bitcoin.
Newport City Council does not favor Bitcoin search plan
First, however, Howells must get permission from the city council to excavate the dump. What if the local authorities decide to leave their Bitcoin riches in the garbage heaps? In that case, Howells plans to take them to court as a last resort.
Howells said in the interview that he developed his strategy with the help of knowledgeable advisors and received investment from two venture capitalists. He hopes Newport City Council will let him dig up the dump as a result. However, the City Council had previously denied Howells access to the dump. Since 2013, the council has persistently refused to let Howells land in the dump. It looks like their prospects will continue to be bleak.
“His recommendations pose significant ecological risks that we cannot accept and indeed are prevented from being considered by our permit requirements,” the council said. A spokesperson for the council added that James Howells had nothing to offer them that would persuade them to allow him access to the property.
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