The James Howell's Journey to Unearth His 8,000 Bitcoins From a Mountain of Trash

Today, more than 4000 km away, James Howell has been on a similar journey for a decade. The only difference is that the exotic pyramids are replaced by mountains of trash

In The Alchemist, which is a fable about following dreams by Paulo Coelho, Santiago sets out on a journey from Spain to the majestic pyramids of Egypt to unearth a treasure of gold he had dreamt of. Today, more than 4000 km away, James Howell has been on a similar journey for a decade. The only difference is that the exotic pyramids are replaced by mountains of trash, and the gold is replaced by Bitcoin. And it remains to be seen whether the universe will conspire to help James achieve his treasure.

James Howell’s Search of 8000 Bitcoin

In 2013, a James Howell claimed that his hard drive with 8,000 Bitcoin, now worth over $820 million—as per latest BTC price of $104K—was thrown away in the trash by his girlfriend. Back then, Bitcoin was worth close to nothing, but little did he know then that what he was considering trash would grow out to be digital gold one day.

James Howell is a computer engineer from Newport, Wales, UK. He claims to be an innovative cryptocurrency pioneer, blockchain strategist, and technology entrepreneur with extensive expertise in Bitcoin, decentralized finance (DeFi), and digital asset tokenization.

He has been fighting legal cases to get his hard drive recovered from a massive landfill, where he alleges his hard drive with 8,000 Bitcoin can be found.

The Newport techie said that his numerous requests to excavate the landfill had been ignored. He had previously tried to get the Newport council to help him in recovering his hard drive.

This matter went to court in December last year when Howell planned to sue the city council to gain access to the Newport Docks Way site or obtain £495 million in compensation. He is even willing to buy the entire landfill to continue his quest for his cryptocurrency treasure.

However, the council had asked for the case to be dropped as they planned to close the landfill in the upcoming financial year after getting permission to build a solar power farm on the land.

This legal action came at a time when the cryptocurrency value started to rise, leading to many people questioning the credibility of his claims and story.

What does the Newport Council have to say?

To excavate the hard drive, Howell had a $12.3 million plan. He even offered 10% of the recovered funds to the city council and the local community, but the council rejected his plan and offer. The Newport council contended at the high court that Howell’s digging into the landfill would seriously affect Newport’s residents. It could bring serious environmental and health effects on the residents.

“The landfill has been in use since the early 2000s and is coming to the end of its life; therefore, the council is planning the closure and capping of the site over the next two years,” a council spokeswoman said.

This rejection by the Newport Council reminds us of the thief who robs Santiago when he reaches Morocco, almost making him give up on his dream.

What Does The Latest Verdict Say?

Howell sued the Newport council in 2024. He wanted the High Court to compel the city council to help him in excavating the hard drive that contains the fortune. Arguing for intellectual property rights among other claims, Howells sued the municipality for £495 million, scheduling a commerce court in Cardiff in December of 2024.

The council had said in response that since the device was deposited at the site, they legally possess it. With the aim of dropping the matter, the council asked for a High Court hearing in December last year.

Judge Keyser rejected Howells’ allegation in a ruling dated January 9, 2025, declaring it to have “no realistic prospect of succeeding.” But this verdict is not enough to stop Howells from his quest as he is planning to buy the entire landfill so that he can dig out his digital gold.

Is James Howell as persevering as Santiago?

James Howell seems determined to continue his search for his lost fortune. In spite of facing many rejections from Newport Council and the High Court, he continues to search for his lost fortune. He now plans to approach the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Although the ECHR cannot overturn the verdict of the UK High Court, it can put some pressure on the Newport council to help him excavate his hard drive.

In addition to approaching the ECHR, Howell is planning to buy the whole landfill and determined to dig up his hard drive from 1.4m tonnes of waste. He had also discussed this plan with various investment partners, who seemed equally keen on his quest. But it should be noted that the city council plans to shut down the landfill and convert it into a solar farm, so time is running out for Howell.

This perseverance from Howell reminds us about Santiago, who, too, even