British man who lost 7,500 BTC to enlist Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots in search

A British man, James Howells, who in 2013 accidentally discarded a hard drive containing 7,500 BTC, is deploying two Boston Dynamics Spot robots in the search. The story is reported by Business Insider.

According to him, the devices are intended to scan the ground and to bolster security. They will be equipped with surveillance cameras to guard the dump site at night.

At current prices, Howells’s lost bitcoins are worth more than $160.4 million.

According to The Washington Post, in August 2021 the price of a single Spot robot stood at $74,500. The official Boston Dynamics site does not list a price — the company says to contact its sales department.

The disk’s owner, in an interview with the publication, said he had developed a search plan with the help of consulting experts and secured funding from two venture capital investors. However Newport city authorities have yet to approve the landfill dig.

A city official said Howells did not provide enough arguments to persuade the city.

“His proposals pose a significant environmental risk that we cannot accept,” said the official.

Howells intends to resolve the matter. He says that if the project goes ahead he will name the Spot robots in honor of Satoshi Nakamoto and Hal Finney.

Earlier in January 2021, he offered Newport authorities about $72 million for the landfill dig, but was refused.

Later he said he planned to employ artificial intelligence in the search for the hard drive.

In the same year, former Ripple CTO and Coil CEO Stefan Thomas told of losing a password sheet for a wallet with 7,002 BTC.

Later his successor in that post, David Schwartz, clarified that the former director also lost access to several hundred accounts with bitcoins.

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