Man in battle with local council to retrieve crypto fortune lost in refuse tip

Mined Bitcoin to the tune of £165 million found its way into a council tip. A decade later, the owner’s legal team has asked for legal access to the site in order to start searching for the lost Bitcoin hard drive.

James Howells, a tech enthusiast from Newport, finds himself amidst an unusual quandary. In 2013, his wife accidentally took a hard drive to the local tip containing 8,000 Bitcoins, worth a staggering £165 million today ($206 million). Desperate to recover his digital treasure, he’s proposed a generous offer to his local council.

A Treasure Misplaced

As reported by the Independent, James was a Bitcoin mining techie in the early days of the cryptocurrency boom. But a minor oversight in 2013 saw his wife unwittingly tossing out a hard drive containing the digital keys to this fortune. The said hard drive now likely resides deep within a landfill site in Newport.

A Bold Proposition

In a bid to recover his lost fortune, Howells has made a proposition to Newport City Council: Permit him to excavate the landfill, and in return, he’ll generously donate £50 in Bitcoin to each resident of Newport, which would then oblige them to learn more about the alpha cryptocurrency, with the aim of dispelling poverty in a deprived area.

Council not playing ball

Newport City Council has thus far proved a very tough nut to crack. Howells has made many efforts to meet with the council’s senior leadership, but so far to no avail. 

The retrieval plan

Should Howells’ request to access the site be granted, he has plans to use AI powered mechanical arms to sift through the detritus, along with environmental health and data retrieval experts.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.