Bitcoin hard drive containing $780m lost forever as UK landfill site is set to close - CoinJournal

• James Howells lost his court battle against Newport City Council in January
• The judge ruled that there were “no reasonable grounds” for succeeding at a full trial
• Today, Howells’ Bitcoin would be worth around $780 million

A UK landfill site where a man lost his hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin is reportedly set to close in the 2025-26 financial year.

The site, in Newport, Wales, “has been in exploitation since the early 2000s and is coming to the end of its life, therefore the council is working on a planned closure and capping of the site over the next two years,” said a council spokesperson.

According to the BBC, a solar farm will be built on part of the site after it received planning permission last August.

Lost battle

In January, James Howells lost his court battle against Newport City Council to recover his lost hard drive. In 2013, his former partner mistakenly threw it out in a black bin bag Judge Keyser KC, the Circuit Commercial Judge for Wales, dismissed Howells’ case. At the time, Keyser stated there were no “reasonable grounds” for succeeding at a full trial.

Over the last 12 years, Howells tried to engage with Newport City Council to recover his lost hard drive, but was “largely ignored.”

At the time of his loss, his assets – that he mined in 2009 – were worth around $1.3 million. Today, they would be valued at over $780 million.