Ex-girlfriend throws 716 million dollars worth of Bitcoin into the trash

In 2013, James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, Wales, accidentally lost access to around 8,000 Bitcoins after his ex-girlfriend, Halfina Eddy-Evans, accidentally threw away a hard drive containing this cryptocurrency. At that time, the total value of Bitcoin was around 500,000 pounds. But now, its value has skyrocketed to an estimated 569 million pounds (716 million dollars). An incident occurred when Howells was cleaning up old stuff. He carefully set aside the hard drive, knowing that it contained his Bitcoin wallet key. But in the midst of the chaotic cleanup, he accidentally instructed Eddy-Evans to throw away a valuable hard drive bag. According to the Daily Mail, she threw it into the Newport Council landfill in South Wales, United Kingdom. When Howells realized this big mistake, the bag was buried under a pile of waste at the 110-acre landfill containing over 1.4 million tons of garbage. Howells has requested permission from the Newport City Council to search for a hard drive at the landfill site. According to reports, he presented several different plans to the council, such as using AI and robot mining machines to perform the work at this location. He even met with investors willing to fund the project, estimating the cost at around 10 million pounds. He also promised to donate a portion of the recovered Bitcoin to charities and local community projects. However, the council rejected his request due to concerns about the environment and legal constraints when exploiting the amount of waste. But Howell did not back down. Instead, he took the lawyer to court in October this year and filed a lawsuit for $495 million. He claimed they were obstructing him from "reclaiming his property". The court's ruling on this issue is expected on December 3, 2024. Meanwhile, Eddy-Evans is fed up with the whole situation. In an interview with the Daily Mail, she said she was tired of hearing about it. She also wishes Howells all the best but admits that this challenge has strained their relationship. However, the incident became the talk of social media, with many wondering if Howell could ever dig back his millions or if it would be forever missing. Either way, only time will tell.