Billy Markus, better known online as Shibetoshi Nakamoto, is recognized as one of the co-creators of Dogecoin.
Recently, Markus shared a post on X featuring an image with a headline about someone who lost a substantial amount of Bitcoin twelve years ago. If that crypto had been recovered today, it would have made the individual a multimillionaire with nearly $800 million in digital assets.
Dogecoin Founder Reacts to Massive Bitcoin Loss
The picture posted by Shibetoshi Nakamoto depicts a large landfill alongside an image of a person seated at their computer. The headline reads that after 12 years, the individual who misplaced $742 million worth of Bitcoin stored on a hard drive has “finally ceased searching.”
A user asked the Grok AI chatbot for more details regarding this story. Grok identified the person as James Howells, who lost access to 8,000 Bitcoins when he accidentally discarded his hard drive in 2013. However, the AI noted that media reports are inconsistent about whether Howells truly stopped looking for his lost cryptocurrency.
Currently, those 8,000 Bitcoins would be valued at approximately $713 million.
Markus responded to this news by tweeting: “I know the feeling.” This implies that perhaps Dogecoin’s creator regrets not accumulating more BTC during its early days when opportunities were abundant. Last year he disclosed owning only around 0.003 BTC—equivalent to roughly $267 in fiat currency.
i know the feeling pic.twitter.com/m87v03uQIg
Tim Draper Shares His Early Bitcoin Experience
Renowned technology investor Tim Draper—known for backing companies like Skype, Tesla and SpaceX—recently revealed on X when and why he first purchased Bitcoin. According to his tweet, Draper bought Bitcoin over ten years ago at just $4 per coin but not because he fully understood blockchain or foresaw its potential.
I initially bought Bitcoin for $4 per coin.
Not because I understood the tech (I didn’t).
Not because I saw the future (I couldn’t).
But because someone explained how digital currency could change the world for people who didn’t have traditional banking access.
I had… pic.twitter.com/hY7njHKsOg
Draper’s motivation stemmed from learning how cryptocurrencies might empower unbanked populations globally. He invested $250,000 into BTC after putting an equal amount into CoinLab. Although he suffered losses during Mt.Gox’s notorious hack where some coins were stolen from him initially — Draper continued purchasing more Bitcoins afterward.