Fresh new and unexpected twist on story of man who lost £566m in Bitcoin in rubbish dump
Fresh new and unexpected twist on story of man who lost £566m in Bitcoin in rubbish dump
Would-be Bitcoin multi-millionaire James Howells, who has tried in vain for years to get access to the dump to find his lost treasure, has dubbed it 'a story the world is waiting to see'
James Howells at the Newport landfill site
(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE )
An American production company has bought the rights to make a TV series about a Welsh dad who lost a fortune at a rubbish dump.
James Howells, from Newport, became one of the first miners of Bitcoin in 2009 after learning about the cryptocurrency from internet forums. The 39-year-old created 8,000 coins, which cost him almost nothing, and stored the access code on a 2.5-inch hard drive in a drawer at his home office. But in 2013 his then-partner mistakenly threw out the hard drive.
Since then, the value of the coins has rocketed to more than £566m and Howells has spent 12 years desperately trying to get the hard drive back from the Docksway landfill site where it is buried.
He recently took Newport council to the High Court in a "last resort" attempt to force an excavation but the claim was thrown out and an appeal failed. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
Los Angeles-based entertainment company Lebul has now acquired rights to develop Mr Howells' story into a "live-action tech thriller" TV series titled The Buried Bitcoin: The Real-Life Treasure Hunt of James Howells.
According to its website Lebul's head of scripted entertainment, Aaron Criswell, played "a key role" in films including The Wolf of Wall Street, Red Riding Hood and The Ides of March.
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The series is set to chronicle Mr Howells' mission to recover the hard drive while facing "numerous practical and bureaucratic obstacles".
"This isn't just content," said Lebul's Reese Van Allen. "It's a live-action tech thriller with nearly a billion dollars on the line, and Lebul is proud to bring it to the world."
Mr Howells said he was proud to confirm the deal with Lebul and described the project as "a story the world is waiting to see".
Earlier this year his court claim was thrown out by Judge Keyser KC, who said it would have "no realistic prospect" of success at trial.
Newport Council refused to allow an excavation on the basis of its environmental permit. It claimed the dig would have "a huge negative environmental impact on the surrounding area".
You can read more about Mr Howells' disastrous loss and his court battle here.
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