Welsh Man Fights to Retrieve Lost Bitcoin Fortune from Landfill

2025-02-11 06:39:46

(MENAFN) A Welsh man is determined to buy a local landfill in an attempt to recover a hard drive that he believes contains a fortune in Bitcoin, buried somewhere within the site. James Howells, a computer engineer, lost the hard drive back in 2013 when his then-partner accidentally threw it away during an office cleanup. The device contained 8,000 Bitcoins, which were valued at approximately USD 106,400 in January of that year. By December, however, the price of Bitcoin surged, pushing the value of the wallet to over USD 9 million. Today, those same 8,000 Bitcoins are worth an estimated USD 775 million.

Despite his claims, Howells’ request to excavate the Newport landfill has been consistently denied by the Newport City Council, which has expressed concerns about environmental issues and legal complications. The council argues that the hard drive became their property once it entered the landfill, a position that was upheld by a recent High Court ruling. Furthermore, the council plans to cap the landfill by 2025-26 and build a solar farm on part of the site. Howells has vowed to continue his efforts, hoping to secure approval for the excavation.

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