Briton wants to buy a landfill to find $700 million in cryptocurrency lost there

A resident of the city of Newport in South Wales, James Howells, says that his ex-girlfriend accidentally threw away a hard drive with thousands of bitcoins in 2013. The man is still looking for them.

This is reported by Sky News.

According to the 39-year-old IT worker, the value of his lost bitcoins exceeds £600 million (over $741 million). Now the man is considering buying the land to hunt for the missing fortune himself.

The Newport City Council plans to close the landfill in the 2025-2026 financial year, ending James' hopes of getting his property back. He told reporters the news came as a “big surprise” to him.

«I thought it would be closed in the next few years because it's 80-90% full, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon», — Howells said.

Last month, a man filed a lawsuit to be allowed to search the dump or be paid £495 million in compensation. The court dismissed the lawsuit.

«If Newport City Council is willing, I would be potentially interested in purchasing the dump «as is». I have discussed this option with investment partners, it is on the agenda», — added the IT expert.

The judge is convinced that Howells' lawsuit has «no real prospects of success» if it is allowed to proceed, The Guardian writes.

Natasha Kumar

By Natasha Kumar

Natasha Kumar has been a reporter on the news desk since 2018. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining The Times Hub, Natasha Kumar worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my natasha@thetimeshub.in 1-800-268-7116