Imagine dedicating more than a decade of your life to combing through a landfill because you believe a fortune the size of a small nation’s budget is buried beneath the rubbish. For one Welsh engineer, this is no metaphor. His hunt for a lost hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins has become a saga of legal battles, media fascination and unwavering determination. And now, with an unexpected twist, his story may be on the brink of a new chapter.
Twelve years digging through a Welsh landfill
Back in 2013, James Howells accidentally threw away a hard drive he insists contains a treasure trove of early mined bitcoins — now worth an estimated €737 million. Since then, he has fought tirelessly to gain permission to excavate the Newport municipal landfill where he believes the device lies buried.
Despite presenting detailed excavation plans and proposing partnerships with specialised recovery firms, his requests have repeatedly been blocked. Earlier this year, the High Court dismissed his latest claim, calling it “without real prospect of success”. But Howells hasn’t given up. He has explored alternative legal avenues, even attempting to represent himself with the help of artificial intelligence.
His eyes are now set on the European Court of Human Rights. And if that fails, he has a bold contingency plan: buying the land outright when the site is scheduled to close in 2026.
For Howells, this is not a wild treasure hunt — it is a matter of digital ownership. In his view, the hard drive still exists, and its contents can still be recovered.
A new docuseries renews hope around the landfill
The turning point comes from an unexpected place: the entertainment industry. US based production company LEBUL has secured exclusive rights to a live action docuseries titled The Buried Bitcoin. Blending interviews, reenactments and visual effects, the series promises to follow Howells’s decade long struggle while exploring the wider rise of cryptocurrencies.
For the engineer, the show is more than storytelling — it is an opportunity to prove that his plan is scientifically and logistically viable. He believes that once viewers see the methods and reasoning behind his approach, public opinion may shift in his favour.
Early buzz suggests that producers, crypto companies and potential streaming platforms are already circling. The series positions itself as a modern treasure hunt built on data recovery, environmental challenges and tight legal constraints — far removed from the romanticism of pirate gold, yet almost as dramatic.
Between technical doubts and legal barriers
Not everyone shares Howells’s optimism. Data recovery specialists warn that a hard drive buried under tonnes of waste for more than a decade faces serious risks. Corrosion, moisture and mechanical stress could have destroyed the components entirely. Even if the casing is intact, extracting readable data would require extremely advanced, expensive techniques.
Legally, the hurdles remain just as steep. Local authorities have repeatedly refused excavation requests, citing environmental dangers, safety concerns and the enormous cost of such an operation. Howells counters with detailed proposals involving private funding, strict environmental controls and full operational transparency.
Behind the technical and legal arguments lies something more human: his daily, nine-to-five dedication to a cause many consider impossible. As digital property law evolves, his effort raises a compelling question about the rights tied to intangible assets — especially when those assets are worth a fortune.
What could happen next — between cameras and courtrooms
With the docuseries expected to air at the end of 2025, public exposure may become Howells’s most powerful ally. Media attention often accelerates stalled negotiations, unlocks specialised funding and pressures institutions to reconsider rigid stances. Whether that will be enough remains uncertain.
Several outcomes are still on the table: a decision from the European Court, a local policy shift, or even a private purchase of the landfill once it shuts down. What is clear is that Howells is betting everything on momentum — the idea that interest generated by the series could finally move the needle.
Twelve years after the hard drive vanished into the rubbish, his quest is still alive. And now, for the first time in a long while, the world might be watching.
