The Good Tech Companies - Man Who Lost $775 Million in Bitcoin Now Wants to Buy the Entire Landfill

Episode Date: March 12, 2025

This story was originally published on HackerNoon at: https://hackernoon.com/man-who-lost-$775-million-in-bitcoin-now-wants-to-buy-the-entire-landfill. James Howells, who lost 8,000 Bitcoins in a landfill, now plans to buy the entire site in a last-ditch effort to recover his $775M fortune. Will it work? Check more stories related to web3 at: https://hackernoon.com/c/web3. You can also check exclusive content about #lost-bitcoin, #cryptocurrency, #digital-asset, #crypto-recovery, #tech-news, #lost-hard-drive, #hackernoon-top-story, #good-company, and more. This story was written by: @jonstojanjournalist. Learn more about this writer by checking @jonstojanjournalist's about page, and for more stories, please visit hackernoon.com. James Howells, who lost 8,000 Bitcoins worth $775M in a landfill in 2013, now wants to buy the entire site to recover his fortune. Newport City Council rejected his previous excavation requests due to environmental concerns. While digital asset recovery stories offer hope, years of exposure may have destroyed the hard drive. His case highlights the risks of poor crypto storage.

This audio is presented by Hacker Noon, where anyone can learn anything about any technology. Man who lost $775 million in bitcoin now wants to buy the entire landfill. By John Stoyan Journalist. James Howells, a computer engineer from Newport, UK, is on a 12-year Quest tour cover a lost hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins, currently worth approximately $775 million, according to a report by Chain Desk. Howells accidentally discarded the hardware wallet in 2013, a time when bitcoin trade data mere $100 per coin.

Now, as bitcoin's value has skyrocketed, Howells is pursuing a radical new strategy to retrieve his lost fortune. The saga began when Howells' then-girlfriend mistakenly threw away the hard drive while cleaning out old computer parts. Realizing his devastating loss, Howell's rushed to the sprawling landfill, roughly the size of a football field. The sheer scale of the task made recovery seem nearly impossible. He proposed a deal to the Newport City Council, offering 10% of the recovered bitcoins' value

in exchange for permission to excavate the landfill. However, the council repeatedly rejected his requests, citing environmental and logistical concerns. Even legal action proved unsuccessful. Howells is pursuing a bold new plan, purchasing the entire Newport landfill before its expected closure later this year. This represents a last-ditch

effort to locate the hard drive, though the chances of it still being functional after years buried underground remain slim. The degradation of electronic components over time could render the Bitcoin inaccessible, even if the hard drive is found. The story of Howell's lost Bitcoin serves as a stark reminder of the critical importance of secure digital asset storage. For those facing similar situations, recommended steps include contacting wallet providers, attempting backup recovery if possible, and exploring professional data recovery services. Chain Desk also cited the 2024 success story of an anonymous individual known as Michael, who recovered nearly $3 million in Bitcoin after believing

his best word was lost forever. After a decade, he hired security researchers who successfully unlocked his wallet and retrieved 43.6 Bitcoins, offering a glimmer of hope for those who have lost access to their digital assets. However, Howell's case underscores the significant challenges and uncertainties involved in recovering lost cryptocurrency. Thank you for listening to this Hacker Noon story, read by Artificial Intelligence. Visit HackerNoon.com to read, write, learn and publish.