The Man Who Threw Away $500 Million Worth of Bitcoin

A Welsh IT worker who claims to have accidentally thrown away a hard drive containing £390 million ($520 million) in Bitcoin is set to appear in court after Newport City Council rejected his request to dig up the local landfill to retrieve it.

The 39-year-old, who became an early Bitcoin miner in 2009, lost access to his cryptocurrency after mistakenly disposing of the drive during a household clearout.

In August 2013, he realized he had placed the hard drive — containing the private key to his Bitcoin — in a bin bag, which was subsequently taken to Newport’s recycling center and ended up in the landfill.

Despite Howell’s offers to cover the cost of the excavation, Newport City Council has repeatedly rejected the request, citing environmental concerns.

The landfill, which has breached environmental permits in the past due to high levels of asbestos, arsenic, and methane, is considered too dangerous to excavate without harming the surrounding area, according to the council.

Howells’ legal team argues that modern technology, including AI-assisted search tools, could recover the hard drive safely. They point to other successful landfill redevelopment projects, asserting that the excavation could even help modernize Newport’s waste management practices.

Howells, who now works as a project manager for a construction firm, is set to appear in court on December 12. He hopes to compel the council to allow the dig.

“I’m not giving up until the court tells me ‘no,'” he said.

In response, Newport City Council has called the court claim “weak” and maintains that excavation is not feasible under their environmental permits.

The case highlights a growing tension between Howell’s vision of recovery and potential wealth and the council’s environmental and legal concerns over the risks of the excavation.

It also highlights the difficulty of keeping digital assets safe and secure.

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