• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Man who lost $630,000,000 bitcoin fortune in tip looks to purchase entire landfill where it was thrown

Home> News

Published 08:51 11 Feb 2025 GMT

Man who lost $630,000,000 bitcoin fortune in tip looks to purchase entire landfill where it was thrown

It was placed in a black bag and mistaken for trash

Rikki Loftus

Rikki Loftus

A man who lost his entire $630,000,000 Bitcoin fortune in a tip is looking to purchase the entire landfill where it was thrown.

Imagine gaining all that money in crypto investments just to lose it in a dump. It sounds like the stuff of nightmares but it’s a reality that one unlucky person is facing.

James Howells, who is a computer expert, has been fighting for 10 years to recover the fortune he thinks he lost in a council dump in south Wales, UK.

The man believes he has lost $630 in Bitcoin (Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The man believes he has lost $630 in Bitcoin (Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Advert

While he hasn’t been able to get the council to let him search the place, last month, he also lost a high court case to force them to do so.

Now, Howells is considering the possibility of buying the entire property so that he can hunt for his missing Bitcoin, which he believes is worth $630 billion.

The cryptocurrency is tucked away inside a hard drive which Howells hopes he can find in the landfill.

The man lost his Bitcoin fortune when he put the hard drive into a black bag while cleaning his office and left it in the hallway of his home back in 2013.

Advert

His then-partner mistook it for trash and disposed of it.

The council recently announced that it would be closing the site, something that came as ‘quite a surprise’ to Howells.

The landfill is now set to be closed (Ray Van Eng Photography/Getty Images)
The landfill is now set to be closed (Ray Van Eng Photography/Getty Images)

Speaking to The Guardian, he said: “It [the council] 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, whilst at the same time they were planning to close the landfill anyway.

Advert

“I expected it would be closed in the coming years because it’s 80/90% full – but didn’t expect its closure so soon. If Newport city council would be willing, I would potentially be interested in purchasing the landfill site ‘as is’ and have discussed this option with investment partners and it is something that is very much on the table.”

Howells has even offered to split his money with the council if it helps him to locate it but he hasn’t had any luck getting them on board.

Instead, the council has argued that the hard drive became its property from the minute it arrived at the landfill.

And it turns out that the high court judge, Judge Keyser KC, agreed with the council.

Advert

In January 2025, he said that he accepted the argument that Howells wasn’t entitled to attempt to find the hard drive.

Featured Image Credit: Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Bitcoin
Cryptocurrency
Money

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
3 hours ago
  • The Diary of a CEO / YouTubeThe Diary of a CEO / YouTube
    2 hours ago

    Neuroscientist's astonishing story on how she communicates with her dead husband every day

    Her discovery is a 'revelation'

    Science
  • d3sign via Gettyd3sign via Getty
    2 hours ago

    Shocking study reveals where AI chatbots really get their information from

    It might not be where you expect

    News
  • SOPA Images / Contributor via GettySOPA Images / Contributor via Getty
    2 hours ago

    Google take ‘giant leap’ with launch of ‘Nano Banana' that will change the AI game forever

    Google makes image editing easier than ever

    News
  • Andrew Harnik / Staff / GettyAndrew Harnik / Staff / Getty
    3 hours ago

    OpenAI warn they could call the police over your ChatGPT conversations

    It's privacy versus prevention

    News
  • Man who lost $632,000,000 Bitcoin wallet sues council over fortune 'lost in tip'
  • 50 Cent made stunning fortune overnight after discovering lost Bitcoin investment he bought for $455,000
  • Tom Brady lost out on $105 million Bitcoin fortune after $30m crypto payment blunder
  • Woman who threw away her boyfriend's $630,000,000 bitcoin fortune finally speaks out on what happened