Latest news with #Howells
The Citizen
3 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
UK man's 12-year quest to recover $900m bitcoin lost in landfill site
James Howells accidentally threw away his hard drive, containing 8 000 bitcoin 12 years ago and the council turned down his offer to purchase the landfill site. Now he has a new plan. Many will have heard the story of Laszlo Hanyecz, the computer programmer from Florida in the US, who famously paid 10 000 bitcoin (BTC) for two Papa John's pizzas back in 2010. In today's terms, those two pizzas cost $1.14 billion. We've also heard of others who mined dozens or even hundreds of BTC in the early days and sold out when the price 'doubled' to $12. Today, BTC trades at around $114 000 (R2.1 million). This latest story of lost BTC is a bit of a head scratcher: British IT engineer James Howells accidentally threw away his hard drive containing 8 000 bitcoin, now worth more than $900 million (R16.2 billion), 12 years ago. He had been mining BTC for several years, back when thousands of people around the world were doing the same on their personal computers and it was worth just a few cents. He tried for years to recover his hard drive from his local Newport landfill site, but to no avail. 'For over 12 years, I tried everything to engage with Newport City Council: public proposals, percentages, mediation, legal action and a formal £25 million-plus offer. $1 billion and they ignored it all. No response. No logic. No leadership,' he wrote on X. ALSO READ: Bitcoin hits record high, surpasses R2 million Despite these setbacks, Howells vows not to give up on his quest to recover the hard drive. According to The Block, he made a formal offer of between $33 million and $40 million to acquire and excavate the landfill site, to be paid for by the issue of a new token representing 21% of the lost wallet's hard drive. In January, a UK judge rejected Howells' attempt to recover the missing hard drive from landfill site, arguing that it was now the property of the council and that environmental permits forbade any attempt to excavate the site. The BBC reported that he had repeatedly asked permission from the council to access the site, offering it a share of the missing bitcoin if recovered. Though the landfill holds more than 1.4 million tonnes of waste, Howells said he had narrowed the hard drive's location to an area covering just 100 000 tonnes. The council may own the hard drive, but Howells remains the legal owner of the 8 000 BTC. He is reported to have abandoned his efforts to purchase the landfill site and is no longer pursuing dialogue with the council or its representatives. ALSO READ: Crypto's breakthrough year: How 2024 has reshaped digital assets Howells told The Block he is now planning to tokenise his legal ownership of the lost 8 000 BTC into a new smart token named Ceiniog Coin (INI). Imminent updates to the bitcoin network will allow for smart contracts not unlike that currently in use on the Ethereum network. These are self-executing contracts stored on the blockchain, much like a computer programme that carries out certain actions when specific conditions are met. Each token would represent a share of Howells' legal claim to the 8 000 BTC or any future payout. It's a way of monetising his legal claim while keeping alive the prospect of eventually recovering the missing hard drive. If anything, the story illustrates the hazards of self-custodying your crypto. This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
From bin to bitcoin fame: the R21 billion blunder that made one man a digital legend
Needle in a haystack. That was the challenge James Howells faced when he realised he'd thrown away his hard drive containing the keys to millions in Bitcoins. Image: Facebook We've all made that mistake - throwing something in the trash that should have been kept - but no one's blunder is likely to top that of James Howells. Howells, 39, an IT worker from Newport, Wales, made one of the most expensive mistakes in digital history when he accidentally threw out a desktop hard drive in 2013 containing the private keys to 8,000 Bitcoins, "TechTimes" reports. At the time, Bitcoin was only taking off - but today, Howells' haul is worth around $950 million! In South African rands, that is almost R17 billion! And going by current projections, his lost fortune could exceed a value $8 billion by 2030 - enough to make anyone howl and weep in despair. But not Howells, he launched a decade-long modern-day digital treasure hunt for the keys to his wealth, which ended up in the local landfill. The publication reports that Howells has finally thrown in the towel after his detailed recovery and funding plans to excavate the landfill site were turned down by the local authority because of environmental and legal restrictions. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Finding a small hard drive in a municipal dump was never going to be easy, but James Howells thought he had a plan. Image: Pexels He had planned to use AI-powered drones and robotic search systems to delve into the deep layers of trash to find his Bitcoin treasure, offering millions to incentivise its recovery. But this was thwarted by the local authority on the basis that its policy was clear: what you throw away no longer belongs to you; it belongs to the state. "TechTimes" reported that Howells has now officially given up hope of ever retrieving what could have become his generational wealth. And, of course, netizens had a lot to say about his cryptocurrency catastrophe. Chuks Michael Abel was all for the search to continue: "I wouldn't end that search till death do us part." Achille Manzo went a step further, posting on Facebook: "If I was an employee there, I would collect every hard drive I find. Fill one box at a time and sell it sealed to him. As time goes by, you never know, he might find it. At least he knows he has someone on the inside looking for him." And, as usual, there were the jokers, with Keyton Davis posting: "Fun fact - He didn't throw it away, his wife thought he spent too much time on bitcoin and threw it away." Ion Mardari had another theory: "He probably found it and said he gave up, so nobody bothers him."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Man Who Lost 8,000 Bitcoin Now Worth $900 Million Wants To Tokenize Entire Wallet In Bid To Assert Claim On Dumped Fortune
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. James Howells, the man who has spent over a decade finding his misplaced hard drive containing over $900 million worth of Bitcoin (CRTPTO: BTC) riches, said Monday he has not given up despite repeated failures and will now tokenize his claim. Howell Changes Strategy After Bid To Buy Landfill Fails In an X post, Howells stated he made several attempts to negotiate with Newport City Council to allow him to search the landfill where the hard drive is believed to be, including public proposals, legal action, and even a formal offer of over $30 million. However, the council has consistently refused, citing environmental and logistical concerns. 'I am done asking permission,' the Wales-based software engineer said. His next plan of action involves tokenizing the entire wallet of 8,000 BTC into 800 billion Ceiniog Coin (INI), a Bitcoin Layer 2 token integrated with other blockchain technologies like Stacks, Runes and Ordinals. Trending: The same firms that backed Uber, Venmo and eBay are investing in this pre-IPO company disrupting a $1.8T market — Howells told The Block that the idea is to launch a successful high-speed, high-scale, fast-confirmation, payment-focused web3 environment backed by 8,000 BTC and secured by the Bitcoin blockchain. The Newport City Council didn't immediately return Benzinga's request for comment. An Unfortunate Saga The bizarre incident dates back to 2013, when Howells' ex-girlfriend unintentionally dumped a hard drive containing 8,000 BTC in the trash. When he lost the legal bid to excavate the site, Howells turned toward President Donald Trump for help, possibly influenced by the U.S. president's pro-cryptocurrency stance. The 8,000 Bitcoins would be worth a whopping $984.73 million at the all-time high price of $123,091.61 and $913.34 million at the prevailing market price of $114,168. Read Next: 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. You can invest today for just $0.30/share. If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it? Photo: Shutterstock This article Man Who Lost 8,000 Bitcoin Now Worth $900 Million Wants To Tokenize Entire Wallet In Bid To Assert Claim On Dumped Fortune originally appeared on Sign in to access your portfolio
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
$950 million lost bitcoin: James Howells gives up landfill search after 12 years
James Howells , a computer engineer from Wales, has officially ended his 12-year quest to recover a hard drive containing the private keys to 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC)—now estimated to be worth nearly $950 million. Howells mistakenly threw out the device during a home clean-up in June 2013, when the Bitcoin it held was valued at around $63 million. It was believed to be buried deep in a Newport landfill , but the local city council repeatedly refused excavation requests, citing both environmental and financial concerns. Productivity Tool Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide By Metla Sudha Sekhar View Program Finance Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory By Dinesh Nagpal View Program Finance Financial Literacy i e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By CA Rahul Gupta View Program Digital Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By Neil Patel View Program Finance Technical Analysis Demystified- A Complete Guide to Trading By Kunal Patel View Program Productivity Tool Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By Study at home View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program — BTC_Archive (@BTC_Archive) The landfill site itself is reportedly around 15 meters deep and holds approximately 200,000 tons of waste, making any recovery operation extremely difficult. Howells filed a $620 million damages lawsuit against the city council in late 2024, but the case was dismissed in January 2025. Even after proposing to give 30% of any recovered Bitcoin to the city and its residents, regulatory hurdles and practical barriers ultimately led Howells to abandon the effort. His story underscores the 'irreversible nature of early Bitcoin losses' and the enormous challenges of recovering lost digital assets from physical storage.
Economic Times
4 days ago
- Science
- Economic Times
$950 million lost bitcoin: James Howells gives up landfill search after 12 years
James Howells, a computer engineer from Wales, has officially ended his 12-year quest to recover a hard drive containing the private keys to 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC)—now estimated to be worth nearly $950 million. Howells mistakenly threw out the device during a home clean-up in June 2013, when the Bitcoin it held was valued at around $63 million. It was believed to be buried deep in a Newport landfill, but the local city council repeatedly refused excavation requests, citing both environmental and financial concerns. — BTC_Archive (@BTC_Archive) The landfill site itself is reportedly around 15 meters deep and holds approximately 200,000 tons of waste, making any recovery operation extremely difficult. Howells filed a $620 million damages lawsuit against the city council in late 2024, but the case was dismissed in January 2025. Even after proposing to give 30% of any recovered Bitcoin to the city and its residents, regulatory hurdles and practical barriers ultimately led Howells to abandon the effort. His story underscores the 'irreversible nature of early Bitcoin losses' and the enormous challenges of recovering lost digital assets from physical storage.
