Newport Man Ends Search for Hard Drive Containing $900 Million in Bitcoin

A Newport resident, software engineer James Howells, has halted his search for a hard drive containing 7,500 bitcoins, which unexpectedly ended up in a landfill back in 2013. This drive held the private key to a wallet holding bitcoins worth over $900 million.

Howells had attempted to recover the hard drive by orchestrating extensive digging operations at the landfill, but was turned down by local authorities. In 2022, he presented a plan that involved deploying Boston Dynamics’ robotic dogs designed to scan the area and locate electronic waste buried under layers of trash.

By the fall of 2023, Howells’ attorneys requested access to the landfill from the Newport council, but once again received a refusal. The city officials cited environmental and logistical concerns as reasons for their decision. In early 2025, a court declined to hear Howells’ lawsuit seeking permission to excavate, emphasizing the potential release of toxic gases resulting from decomposing waste.

In February of this year, Howells announced plans to purchase the landfill in a bid to locate the hard drive. Just before this, the city council revealed their intention to close the landfill in order to construct a solar farm on part of the site. By March, the court dismissed Howells’ final petition.

Howells is not the only Briton to have lost cryptocurrency in a landfill. A local elementary school teacher, Ellie Hart, accidentally discarded a flash drive containing bitcoins valued at $3.8 million while cleaning her husband Tom’s office.