UK landfill with lost $768M Bitcoin hard drive to close
The end of the lost Bitcoin story
Authorities in the British city of Newport (Wales) have announced the upcoming closure of a landfill that became the center of IT specialist James Howells' years-long battle to recover a lost hard drive containing 8,000 BTC.
According to BBC, the landfill, located east of the country’s capital Cardiff, is set to cease operations in the 2025–2026 financial year. A representative of the Newport council stated that the site had been in use since the early 2000s and is now nearing the end of its life cycle. Over the next two years, authorities plan to close and rehabilitate the area.
The government has already secured permission to construct a solar power plant on part of the site.
The lost hard drive with Bitcoin
Programmer James Howells claims that his former partner accidentally threw away a hard drive containing bitcoin in 2013. According to him, he mined 8,000 BTC back in 2009, which today would be worth approximately $768 million.
For a decade, Howells fought for permission to excavate the landfill or receive compensation for the lost funds. However, in 2024, a court ultimately rejected his lawsuit, ruling that his chances of success in a full trial were "unrealistic".
Howells insisted that AI specialists could help locate the drive at no cost to local authorities or residents. However, Newport officials declined, citing the "significant negative environmental impact" such excavation would cause.
