Britse man wil hele stortplaats kopen om $ 800 miljoen aan Bitcoin terug te krijgen

A decade after accidentally discarding a hard drive containing nearly $800 million in Bitcoin, James Howells is now considering an extreme measure—buying the entire landfill where it was dumped.

Howells, who has spent years battling Newport City Council in Wales for permission to search the Docksway Landfill, announced his latest plan on X.

“Am considering purchasing a landfill site. Funding secured,” he posted on Thursday, echoing reports from UK media earlier in the week.

He did not specify the source of his funding.

De Britse IT-medewerker verloor de harde schijf in 2013 toen hij zijn huis opruimde. Hij dacht ten onrechte dat de schijf leeg was.

Tegen de tijd dat hij zijn fout had ontdekt, was de waarde van Bitcoin al enorm gestegen.

What was once worth about $9 million has now surged to almost $800 million, as cryptocurrency prices have soared.

Howells has made multiple attempts to access the landfill, including offering over $70 million to the local council in 2021 in exchange for permission to dig up the site.

However, the council has repeatedly denied his requests, citing environmental concerns and the high costs of excavation.

In January, a British High Court judge dismissed Howells’ legal challenge against the council, ruling that he had no legal right to force an excavation.

Judge Andrew Keyser likened the situation to losing a piece of paper with a password written on it—without the hard drive’s private key record, the Bitcoin remains inaccessible.

Newport City Council has yet to respond to Howells’ latest proposal but previously stated that the landfill is set to close by the 2025/26 financial year.

In 2021 merkte de raad op dat de opgraving niet alleen in strijd zou zijn met de vergunning, maar ook aanzienlijke milieurisico's zou opleveren.

Ondanks deze obstakels blijft Howells vastbesloten om zijn verloren fortuin terug te krijgen, of dat nu door middel van onderhandelingen, juridische stappen of door de stortplaats zelf te kopen.