How One Early Miner Accidentally Discarded a Laptop with 7,500 BTC

Ever wonder about some of the biggest "what if" moments in the crypto world? Today I learned about a story that might make you appreciate your cold storage and passphrase backup a little more. It involves a guy named James Howells, an early Bitcoin miner, who threw away a fortune. Literally.

Back in 2009, when Bitcoin really new, James Howells from the UK began mining the cryptocurrency on his laptop. Over time, he mined about 7,500 BTC.

Fast-forward to 2013, and Bitcoin had started gaining some serious traction. By this time, Howells had stopped mining and had stored the laptop in a drawer. During a clear-out, the laptop ended up being thrown away. James didn't realize his mistake until it was too late and the laptop had ended up in a landfill, and the city council deemed it too costly and risky to permit a search.

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James Howells is offering his city $70 million to dig his laptop from the dump.

When Howells realized his mistake, the Bitcoin on the discarded hard drive was already worth millions. As of today's Bitcoin prices, we're talking about an astronomical figure, around $190 million. Despite his best efforts to recover the lost laptop, including offers to donate a portion of the recovered Bitcoins to his city, his requests have been repeatedly denied due to environmental and funding concerns.

Interestingly, estimates suggest that around 20% of all mined Bitcoin is lost or stranded in wallets, which makes everyone's bitcoin be worth a little bit more.

As of now, the lost laptop is still somewhere in the landfill, buried under years of waste. Howells still holds out hope, but with each passing day, the chances of recovering that treasure diminish.

Sources:

• James Howells' Lost Bitcoin
• The Cost of Lost Bitcoin