8,000 BTC in a Landfill—And Now It’s Being Shut Down

In the early days of Bitcoin, James was ahead of the curve, mining coins long before most people even knew what they were. But one careless decision changed everything. After his computer broke down, he took it apart, and in a moment of misjudgment, discarded the hard drive that held his digital fortune. His ex-girlfriend recalls that he personally asked her to get rid of it, insisting it was worthless. Now, she just hopes he finds it—if only so he’ll finally stop talking about it.

James has spent years trying to convince Newport’s city council to let him excavate over 100,000 tons of landfill waste in search of the drive. He even offered the city a share of the Bitcoin if he recovered it. But time and again, officials have refused, citing legal and environmental concerns. Some have even gone as far as to claim that the moment the drive hit the landfill, it became city property.

The landfill has been in exploitation since the early 2000s and is coming to the end of its life, therefore the council is working on a planned closure and capping of the site over the next two years,

a city council spokesperson stated.

With the landfill’s closure approaching, efforts to clean up the environment have taken priority—at the cost of any hope James Howells had left of recovering his lost Bitcoin. The hard drive, once holding a fortune, is now all but permanently out of reach. It’s a bitter ending for Howells, who has spent years fighting in court for permission to search or at least receive compensation exceeding $500 million.

His saga isn’t just about a lost hard drive—it’s a cautionary tale of how, despite all our technological advancements, human mistakes still shape destinies. But is all hope truly lost? Explore the possibilities in our special feature.