Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that has been exchanged online ever since its introduction to the market in 2009. It is considered one of the first digital currencies and paved the way for many other cryptocurrencies and NFTs that have since taken over the market. Bitcoins from the early days are now worth a significant amount of money, which is part of the reason why 39-year-old IT worker James Howells is upset.
Howells claims that his ex-partner threw away a hard drive containing his Bitcoin wallet. He says he originally started the wallet in 2008, and it is now worth approximately 600 million pounds (or $774,463,361.43). For the past several years, Howells has been fighting to recover his lost fortune and recently lost a court case in which he hoped Newport City Council would compensate him for his losses.
Now, he has changed his approach and is hoping to buy the landfill where he believes the hard drive is buried.
“If Newport City Council would be willing, I would potentially be interested in purchasing the landfill site ‘as is.’ I have discussed this option with investment partners, and it is something that is very much on the table,” Howells said.
It is unclear whether Newport City Council would be open to selling the site to Howells, but even if he were to acquire the landfill, the odds remain stacked against him. The Independent asked Craig Anderson, a Senior Lecturer in Statistics at the University of Glasgow, how long it would take to search the entire landfill, and his estimate was approximately 316 years.
