Ex-Girlfriend Accidentally Disposes of Hard Drive Containing $716M in Bitcoin


James Howells’ $716M Bitcoin loss due to a discarded hard drive has resurfaced as his ex-girlfriend, Halfina Eddy-Evans, revealed she had thrown it away at his request. Eddy-Evans stated she acted on Howells’ instructions to discard "unnecessary items" back in 2013, not knowing the hard drive contained 8,000 mined Bitcoin from 2009, now worth over $716 million.
Legal and Environmental Challenges:Howells has repeatedly requested permission from Newport City Council to excavate the landfill, which has been denied due to environmental risks and logistical hurdles.
Despite offering $11M for the excavation and 10% of recovered funds to the council, his proposals were rejected, leading to a $647M lawsuit against the council for losses.
Lessons on Cryptocurrency Management:The incident underscores the importance of secure storage for digital assets. Using hardware wallets ("cold wallets") and maintaining multiple copies of recovery phrases in secure locations can safeguard against accidental losses. Proper planning and storage are essential to protect cryptocurrency investments.
BTC0,28%
REQ0,15%
NOT0,8%
OVER-1,05%
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