The engineer who threw 168 million euros in Bitcoin into a landfill asks urgent help from NASA
Ten years ago, computer engineer James Howells threw away a hard drive with 8,000 bitcoins without remembering its million-dollar contents. Now, desperate to get it back, he has asked NASA for help and deployed robot dogs to explore the landfill where he believes his "treasure" is located.
Howells, whose investment in the search is estimated at almost 11 million euros, is determined to dig in a landfill in Newport, United Kingdom. If successful, he has promised to donate 10% of his profits to build a cryptocurrency center in the country. This accident occurred in 2013, when cryptocurrency was in its early stages. At their peak, Howells' 8,000 bitcoins were worth almost half a billion euros.
Although its value is now 168 million, the fluctuation of bitcoin has been drastic. In January 2021, its value was approximately €250 million.Howells has assured that the search mission will be environmentally friendly and beneficial to the city of Newport, with plans to convert the landfill into a solar farm with wind turbines .
However, local British authorities have expressed skepticism about his proposal.
