Landfill site in Wales holding 8000 Bitcoins to close soon. James Howells mistakenly discarded hard drive with Bitcoins. Council denies search due to environmental risks.
A landfill site in Newport, Wales, believed to contain a hard drive with 8000 Bitcoins (BTC) worth approximately $777 million, is set to close by the fiscal year 2026-2025. In 2013, James Howells, a Welsh IT worker, mistakenly threw away a hard drive containing Bitcoins mined in 2009 while cleaning his house. His attempts to obtain permission from the Newport City Council to search the landfill site, even offering profit sharing, were unsuccessful. The council, citing environmental risks, opposed the excavation, and recently, the court ruled against his complaint.
