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James Howells, a computer engineer from Wales, has ended his 12-year search for a hard drive containing the private keys to 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC)—now worth around $950 million.
Howells accidentally discarded the drive in June 2013 during a home cleanup, when it was worth about $63 million. The device was believed to be buried in a Newport landfill, but the city council repeatedly denied excavation requests over environmental and financial concerns.
Bitcoin hard drive worth $950M lost forever.
James Howells ends 10-year search. 😢 pic.twitter.com/riGtfCpe3g
— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) August 3, 2025
The landfill is estimated to be 15 meters deep with 200,000 tons of waste, making recovery highly impractical. A $620 million damages lawsuit filed by Howells in late 2024 was dismissed in January 2025.
Despite offering 30% of the recovered funds to the city and residents, logistical challenges and regulatory barriers brought the search to a close—highlighting the irreversible nature of early Bitcoin losses and the difficulties in recovering storage devices for digital assets.
