๐ฌ ๐๐ผ๐น๐น๐๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐น: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ $๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐จ๐ป๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐ง๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ ๐๏ธ๐ธ
โ 8,000 BTC lost in a landfill
โ $742 million at todayโs value
โ 12-year battle vs bureaucracy
โ Now, it's becoming a documentary
โค The Costliest Mistake in Crypto History?
In 2013, James Howells, an IT worker from Newport, South Wales, accidentally threw away a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoins. Back then, they were worth about $8M. Today? Roughly $742 million โ all buried under a mountain of trash.
The moment he realized what had happened, Howells launched a relentless mission to recover it. But one thing stood in his way: the landfill... and the UK legal system.
โค A Decade of Frustration & Futility
Over 12 years, Howells tried everything:
๐น Proposed AI-powered robotic excavators
๐น Promised eco-safe recovery methods
๐น Offered millions in funding himself
But Newport City Council said no โ repeatedly. They cited environmental risk, toxic gas concerns, and legal hurdles that make landfill ownership incredibly complex in the UK.
In 2024, a judge shut the door for good:
โ There is no realistic prospect of recovery. โ
Just like that, Howellsโ $742M dream was officially declared... unreachable.
โค But The Storyโs Not Over ๐ฅ
A Hollywood ending? Maybe.
๐ฝ๏ธ LEBUL, a Los Angeles-based production company, is turning Howells' saga into a docuseries, podcast, and short-form content titled:
โThe Buried Bitcoin: The Real-Life Treasure Hunt of James Howellsโ
Using CGI recreations, courtroom drama, and behind-the-scenes planning, the documentary aims to bring one of the wildest tales in crypto to the global stage.
Howells says:
โ This is my chance to finally show the world what we tried to do. Iโm not giving up the fight. โ