Tech specialist explores acquisition of landfill site in bid to recover over $740 million bitcoin

A computer expert, who has spent nearly a decade trying to recover a £600 million ($743 million) bitcoin fortune buried in a South Wales council dump, is now considering buying the site to search for the missing hard drive.

James Howells, 39, lost a High Court case last month against Newport City Council, which refused to allow him to search the landfill for a hard drive he believes holds the key to his bitcoin fortune, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Despite his legal setback, Howells revealed that he may look into purchasing the site in order to conduct his search.

"I was quite surprised to hear about the council's plan to close the landfill," Howells said.

"They claimed in court that allowing me to search would cause a significant impact on the people of Newport, yet they were already planning to close the site anyway."

Howells, who has been pursuing the case since 2013, believes the hard drive containing his bitcoin wallet was accidentally discarded in the dump after being mistaken for rubbish by his former partner. He had stored the bitcoins on the drive in the early days of the cryptocurrency's rise and estimates the value to be around £600 million ($743 million).

The council, which has since secured planning permission for a solar farm on part of the landfill site, has been firm in rejecting Howells' attempts to retrieve the drive. The authority maintains that once the hard drive entered the landfill, it became its property.

Howells, who has worked with pro bono lawyers, said he would be open to negotiating with Newport City Council to purchase the site.

"If they’re willing, I would be very interested in buying the landfill 'as is,' and I’ve discussed the possibility with investment partners," he added.

The closure of the landfill, which is reportedly 80-90% full, is now imminent, and with the capping of the site, it would effectively end any further hopes of recovering the lost fortune. However, Howells remains determined, despite the council's stance and the Judge’s ruling in January that he was not entitled to attempt to retrieve the hard drive.

Newport City Council declined to comment on Howells’ remarks.

By Aghakazim Guliyev