Man Seeks Permission to Search Landfill for $800 Million Bitcoin
James Howells from Newport is attempting to recover a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $800 million, buried in a local landfill. He accidentally discarded the hard drive during an office cleanup in 2013. His requests to search the landfill have been consistently denied by Newport City Council.
The council asserts that items discarded in the landfill become their property and cannot be retrieved or sold. Howells has proposed offering the council 25% of the recovered funds for permission to search, but the council cites legal and logistical issues as reasons for their refusal.
Howells has gathered a team of data recovery and excavation experts who have identified the likely location of the hard drive. Their plan includes a targeted excavation aimed at minimizing environmental impact. During a court hearing on December 2, his legal team stated that the project would be executed on a contingency basis, with payment only upon successful recovery of the Bitcoin.
The council's legal representatives rejected the proposal, arguing it attempts to acquire something they claim cannot be legally sold. The hard drive, buried for over a decade, signifies one of the largest losses in Bitcoin history. Users on social media have likened Howells' situation to other notable cryptocurrency losses, including the individual who spent 10,000 Bitcoin on two pizzas in 2010, now worth billions.
Despite these challenges, Howells persists in seeking permission to search the landfill. If approved, the recovery task would still be highly difficult, akin to finding a needle in a haystack. If denied, Howells’ case serves as a cautionary tale regarding the risks associated with managing digital assets.