A decade after accidentally discarding a hard drive containing nearly $800 million in Bitcoin, James Howells is now considering an extreme measure—buying the entire landfill where it was dumped.
Howells, who has spent years battling Newport City Council in Wales for permission to search the Docksway Landfill, announced his latest plan on X.
Am considering purchasing a landfill site. Funding secured.
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“Am considering purchasing a landfill site. Funding secured,” he posted on Thursday, echoing reports from UK media earlier in the week.
He did not specify the source of his funding.
James Howells threw away $750 million of bitcoin accidentally a decade ago and has been trying to recover the hard drive from a landfill ever since. Today, a judge has rejected his latest attempt to search through 110,000 tons of garbage for his digital gold.
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The British IT worker initially lost the hard drive in 2013 while clearing out his home, mistakenly believing it was blank.
By the time he realized his error, Bitcoin’s value had begun to skyrocket.
What was once worth about $9 million has now surged to almost $800 million, as cryptocurrency prices have soared.
Howells has made multiple attempts to access the landfill, including offering over $70 million to the local council in 2021 in exchange for permission to dig up the site.
However, the council has repeatedly denied his requests, citing environmental concerns and the high costs of excavation.
In January, a British High Court judge dismissed Howells’ legal challenge against the council, ruling that he had no legal right to force an excavation.
Judge Andrew Keyser likened the situation to losing a piece of paper with a password written on it—without the hard drive’s private key record, the Bitcoin remains inaccessible.
Newport City Council has yet to respond to Howells’ latest proposal but previously stated that the landfill is set to close by the 2025/26 financial year.
In 2021, the council noted that excavation would not only violate its licensing permit but also pose significant environmental risks.
Despite these obstacles, Howells remains determined to reclaim his lost fortune—whether by negotiation, legal action, or outright purchase of the landfill itself.
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