Key Takeaways
- James Howells is in a legal battle to retrieve a hard drive with 8,000 bitcoins, now worth over $500 million USD.
- Newport City Council has denied access to the landfill citing ecological risks, but Howells has raised $11 million for a recovery mission.
- The search for the hard drive is fraught with uncertainty, and there is no guarantee that the bitcoins can be recovered even if it is found.
James Howells, a 38-year-old IT expert, is fighting to recover a hard drive he discarded in 2013.
The hard drive, which contains 8,000 bitcoins, is now valued at over £400 million, or around $509 million USD.
His early involvement in Bitcoin mining led to the accumulation of these coins, which are now lost in a landfill.
Legal and ecological challenges
Howells has faced resistance from the Newport City Council, which cites ecological risks in denying access to the landfill.
Despite this, he has raised $11 million from European investors to fund a recovery mission and has now taken his case to the High Court, seeking permission to search the landfill with a team of specialists.
Uncertain prospects of recovery
The planned search, employing AI technology and advanced robots, is expected to last up to a year.
However, even if the hard drive is found, there is no guarantee that the data can be recovered due to potential damage to the disk platter.
