British man and IT engineer James Howells mistakenly discarded a hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins as garbage in 2013, and has been seeking to excavate it for years without success. Now it seems he has finally given up but announced plans to 'tokenize' the 8,000 bitcoin wallet. (Background: 8,000 bitcoins thrown away in a landfill! British man seeks excavation 'denied by court': will sue to the Supreme Court, government should compensate me 600 million dollars) (Further background: 8,000 BTC hard drive lost in landfill, British man sues government: compensate me 647 million dollars) Remember? A British IT engineer, James Howells, mistakenly discarded a hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins (now worth over 900 million dollars) as trash in 2013. In order to recover the bitcoins, he continuously attempted to apply to the Newport City Council to excavate the landfill. However, the council has long denied his requests to excavate the landfill, citing environmental permit restrictions, and the landfill is expected to close between 2025 and 2026, making his chances of recovering the BTC even more remote. 12 years of negotiations have yielded no results. Just last night (4th), James Howells posted on X, stating that over the past 12 years, he has made public proposals, profit-sharing plans, third-party mediation, legal actions, and even formally offered over 25 million pounds for acquisition, totaling a value of up to 1 billion dollars. However, the council has never responded, and Howells bluntly stated that the officials lack logic and leadership, believing that the official stance is 'hoping I would give up.' For over 12 years, I tried everything to engage with Newport City Council: •Public Proposals•Percentages•Mediation•Legal action•AND a formal £25M+ offer $1 Billion and they ignored it all. No response. No logic. No leadership. They want me to give up, but pic.twitter.com/z9IWrurojD — James Howells (@howelzy) August 4, 2025 Announcing the tokenization of his bitcoins After multiple unsuccessful negotiations, Howells wrote in his post: 'I am no longer seeking consent.' He stated that he would tokenize the wallet containing 8,000 bitcoins, issuing 800 billion Ceiniog Coins (INI), with each INI corresponding to one satoshi, equivalent to a 1:1 value mapping (as he claims). Howells stated that Ceiniog Coin will be built on the Bitcoin main chain, implemented through OP_RETURN technology, and can integrate with the Bitcoin ecosystem, including Stacks, Runes, and Ordinals, with plans to officially launch by the end of 2025. He wrote: This vault is mine, and now I call the shots. The local government's silence and the crypto community's response In response to Howells' public declaration, some users left comments encouraging him not to give up, while others suggested he refer to other crypto projects... But it seems he has indeed given up on continuing to fight the council, and these 8,000 bitcoins will likely vanish forever. Although it is regrettable for his loss, Howells' subsequent attempt to issue Ceiniog Coin is more of a symbolic act, as its value cannot be compared to the BTC he lost. However, perhaps it can provide a little consolation for him, who has dedicated his life to finding the coins. 12 years of searching for bitcoins in vain... For more than a decade, James Howells has fully committed to the plan of searching for the hard drive and has given up his IT job. It is understood that the landfill contains over 1.4 million tons of garbage. Dailymail analyzed that since being discarded, James Howells' bitcoin hard drive has been buried beneath layers of deep garbage in the landfill, and as more garbage continues to pile up, the difficulty of searching has become akin to finding a needle in a haystack. With the announcement of the landfill's closure plan, his chances of recovering his bitcoin wealth have become even more remote, not to mention the possibility of the hard drive being permanently damaged in the harsh environment. Related reports: 7,500 bitcoins thrown away as garbage! Desperate British man files a lawsuit, hoping to excavate the landfill. Bitcoin spikes to $94,700 after V reversal, Trump announces a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum starting on the 10th. Rich Dad warns: The biggest stock market crash in history will happen this year! Millions will be unemployed 'Buying bitcoin can save your life.' 'I gave up! After 12 years of searching for 8,000 bitcoins in the landfill, the British engineer announces plans to tokenize his BTC.' This article was first published by BlockTempo (the most influential blockchain news media).

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