James Howells, the Welsh engineer who in 2013 lost by accident a hard drive with the access keys to 8,000 bitcóins (today valued at more than 950 million dollars), has decided to transform his drama into a new business opportunity.
Before the refusal of Newport’s local authorities to allow him to excavate the landfill where he thinks his album is still, Now plan to monetize its history through the crypto world.
In a recent interview, Howells explained that he will launch a layer 2 centered in Bitcóin, accompanied by a new token. This will not be supported by usable cryptocurrencies, but by the symbolic idea of lost currencies, with its hard drive turned into an “inaccessible vault, but visible to all.”
You can read: the tax reform has not begun to discuss and would already be virtually sunk
According to Howells himself, “we will not need to access the 8,000 bitcóins portfolio because the Token is a representation of it.” The objective is to attract investors interested in a project that mixes nostalgia, innovation and viral narrative.
The Welshman had already announced months ago an attempt to finance the excavation of the landfill tokenizing 21% of his lost wallet, with the aim of raising up to 75 million dollars. If there are no changes, in October you will present your project in Singapore to attract the global public.
“The future is the digital currencies of central banks,” said Tombini.
Private archive
In addition, Howells is also exploiting its history in the media field. A Los Angeles producer acquired the exclusive rights to narrate their experience, with plans to launch a docuserie, a podcast and contents for social networks.
You may be interested: cybersecurity, protagonist in Andicom 2025: seven key conclusions
Howells’s story reminds the famous case of the two pizzas bought by 10,000 bitcóins in 2010. Fourteen years laterthe Welsh engineer does not want to continue regretting for the lost fortune: if he cannot recover it, he intends to turn his misfortune into a profitable business.
Constance Gómez Guasca
Economy and Business Writing
