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After Losing US$ 800 Million In Bitcoins, Man Plans To Acquire The Landfill Where The Hard Drive Was Discarded To Try To Recover The Fortune.
In a landfill in the city of Newport, Wales, a true digital fortune may be buried. British citizen James Howells believes that beneath tons of trash accumulated over the years lies a hard drive containing access to nearly 800 million dollars in bitcoins.
The device was accidentally discarded in 2013, and since then, Howells has been unsuccessfully trying to recover the equipment.
Now, after a long battle with local authorities, he proposes a radical solution: to buy the landfill. “I’m thinking of buying a landfill. Financing guaranteed,” Howells recently posted on X, formerly Twitter.
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The Brit did not reveal who would be financing the plan, but assured that he has support for the purchase.
The Mistake That Cost Millions In Bitcoins
It all started over a decade ago when Howells was cleaning his house and, without realizing it, discarded the wrong hard drive. At the time, the estimated value of the bitcoins stored was 9 million dollars. Since then, with the significant appreciation of the cryptocurrency, the figure has soared to nearly 800 million.
The private keys that allow access to the digital coins are recorded on that hard drive. Without them, the amount remains inaccessible.
Judge Andrew Keyser, who reviewed the case recently, compared the incident to throwing away a piece of paper with a unique password.
Battle In Court
Howells did not stand still upon realizing the mistake. In 2021, he even offered the Newport City Council over 70 million dollars to excavate the landfill.
The request was denied. The city’s argument is the environmental impact that an excavation of this magnitude would cause.
In January of this year, a judge from the British High Court rejected yet another attempt from Howells. The court claimed that environmental legislation prevents the movement of waste on site. The decision frustrated the Brit, but did not make him give up.
Environmental Risks And The Costs Involved
The Newport City Council, responsible for the landfill, emphasized the risks of the endeavor. The site is set to close in the 2025/26 fiscal year and, according to the administration, any excavation would compromise the safety and environmental balance of the area.
The council’s spokesperson noted that the costs for the operation would be in the millions and without a guarantee of success.
Waste management experts corroborate this concern. Moving the trash could release toxic gases, contaminate the soil, and affect the surrounding area. Even if the hard drive were found, there are doubts about its integrity after so many years under extreme conditions.
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