James Howells is considering buying a public landfill where he claims a massive Bitcoin fortune might be buried, but local authorities plan to shut down the site after a court battle.
Despite a court dismissal last month, early Bitcoin (BTC) miner James Howells is considering purchasing the landfill where he believes his lost cryptocurrency, now worth over £620 million ($768 million), is buried.
The Newport, South Wales, resident sought a court order to excavate the site or receive $609 million in compensation from the Newport City Council.
Howells’ claim revolves around a hard drive that his former partner allegedly discarded in 2013 at the landfill. The device is said to contain 7,500 BTC, which Howells mined in 2009 when Bitcoin was new and traded for mere pennies.
The computer engineer has repeatedly petitioned or sued Newport authorities for access to the site, offering the council a share of the fortune in return. The landfill contains over 1.4 million tonnes of waste, but Howells asserts that his drive is likely buried within a 100,000-tonne area, citing an investigation conducted by a team he hired.
In response, Newport City Council asked the High Court to dismiss Howells’ claims, arguing that local laws grant the government rights over any property that enters the landfill. Judge Andrew John Keyser KC ruled against Howells, stating that his claims were insufficient and that too much time had passed.
Authorities also plan to close the site during the 2025-2026 financial year and convert sections of it into a solar farm.
Howells expressed shock to the BBC upon hearing the news, “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,” he said.
According to the report, Howells is considering escalating the case to the Supreme Court and has not ruled out purchasing the landfill outright. He believes the lost funds could reach a $1.2 billion valuation by 2026 if Bitcoin continues its uptrend.
