James Howells is an IT specialist who accidentally 'misplaced' a hard drive with the private keys to his 8,000 BTC stack a little over a decade ago.

Maybe his partner threw the HDD away, or maybe he did, or maybe it was lost. It's unclear, and it doesn't matter anyway, because the bottom line is, the HDD is lost.

For years, Howells tried everything he could to convince the council in Wales to give him excavation rights. He claimed he'd use AI drones, robotics, and everything but the kitchen sink to minimise environmental harm.

But it was obviously an unrealistic request. The chances he'd ever recover the HDD are zero. Eventually, he had to give up because the council told him no, and then they shut down the landfill.

It's tough. But if I was in his position, I'd the only thing I could do: monetise the whole thing by dramatising the whole thing.

I'd start a YouTube channel, an Instagram account, I'd pitch the story to production companies. And that's more or less what he's doing.

Howells apparently struck a deal with a company called LEBUL for a docuseries titled The Buried Bitcoin, which should come out soon.

Good luck to him.