A man who accidentally binned a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin tokens more than a decade ago is hoping to buy the tip where he lost his fortune.
An estimated £620,000,000 is sitting on the hard drive in the Newport Dock’s Way tip after James Howells’ partner mistakenly threw it out during a spring clean in 2013.
It was recently announced the tip will be closed in 2025, with a new solar farm expected to be installed on the land.
But Howells has said that Newport Council has backed down on what it previously cited as a reason for not allowing him to search the tip.
He said: ‘The council planning on closing the landfill so soon is quite a surprise, especially since it claimed at the High Court that closing the landfill to allow me to search would have a huge detrimental impact on the people of Newport, whilst at the same time they were planning to close the landfill anyway.
‘I would be potentially interested in purchasing the landfill site,’ he added. ‘I have discussed this option recently with investment partners and it is very much on the table.’
Mr Howells mined the 8,000 Bitcoin in 2009 at almost no cost to himself. He forgot about it, storing it in a black bin bag, until its value surged to £9 million several months later.
By then it was long gone. The hard drive is now buried somewhere among 350,000 tonnes of rubbish at Newport Household Waste Recycling Centre in South Wales.
Despite offering to pay the council £10 million if it is recovered, the council says finding it is unlikely, would harm the environment and could cost millions of pounds, with no guarantee of that money being reimbursed.
Reacting to the decision to strike out his case, Mr Howells said: ‘The case being struck out at the earliest hearing doesn’t even give me the opportunity to explain myself or an opportunity for justice in any shape or form.
‘There was so much more that could have been explained in a full trial and that’s what I was expecting.’
James Goudie KC, representing the council, said Mr Howells had forfeited ownership of the hard drive when it entered the landfill.
He also said environmental regulations mean it can’t excavate the site without violating its permits.
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