In 2013, James Howell threw out a hard drive holding 8,000 Bitcoin. His story is the ultimate reminder that while Bitcoin is untouchable and decentralized, it's still vulnerable to plain old human error.
For Howell, Bitcoin's promise of self-sovereignty turned brutal: no banks, no recovery, just him and that hard drive buried under mountains of trash. Despite years of fighting to excavate it, local authorities have blocked his every attempt, citing environmental concerns.
Howell’s loss is a wake-up call for every Bitcoiner: secure your keys, have backups, and don’t rely on a single device. Bitcoin may be forever, but that hard drive isn’t.