Man seeks to purchase landfill where he thinks his missing bitcoin wealth is buried

A computer engineer who claims his Bitcoin hard drive worth nearly £600m is buried in a landfill is now entertaining the idea of purchasing the entire site to retrieve it. James Howells asserts that his former partner mistakenly discarded the hard drive in 2013, only for it to skyrocket in value to an estimated £598m.

For over a decade, he has been embroiled in a battle to recover the cryptocurrency from the landfill in Newport, Wales. However, last month a High Court judge dismissed his case against the local council seeking access to the site or £495m in compensation.

The council recently announced intentions to close the landfill during the 2025-26 financial year and repurpose the site into a solar farm to power new bin lorries. Despite this decision, Mr. Howells, aged 39, expressed interest in potentially acquiring the site himself in the hopes of locating his lost hard drive. He remarked on the suddenness of the council’s landfill closure plans, particularly in light of their argument in court about the adverse impact on Newport residents of allowing him to search for his drive.

Bitcoin, a fully virtual form of cryptocurrency without physical notes or coins, was initially used by Mr. Howells during the late 2000s following its introduction. However, the hard drive containing his Bitcoin lay forgotten in the landfill after being discarded.

In 2024, the cryptocurrency’s value surged by over 80%, prompting Mr. Howells to enlist a team of experts to aid in locating the missing file. Despite legal entanglements with the council and repeated denials to excavate the landfill, Mr. Howells narrowed down the area containing the Bitcoin wallet to approximately 100,000 tonnes within the 1.4 million tonnes of waste at the Newport landfill site.

The council argued before the High Court that the landfill site now belonged to them when it entered the rubbish dump, leading the judge to dismiss Mr. Howells’ claim for access or compensation. Judge Keyser KC found that there were no reasonable grounds for the case to proceed to trial and that the likelihood of success was minimal.

Mr. Howells expressed interest in exploring the option of purchasing the landfill site, discussing the prospect with potential investment partners. Despite facing legal setbacks, he remains determined to continue his quest to locate his lost Bitcoin fortune buried within the landfill.