After shedding 8,000 bitcoins—value almost $900 million—in a landfill, James Howells is abandoning his combat to get better the funds.

James Howells and his misplaced Bitcoin arduous drive is the stuff legends are product of. Bro is lastly closing the costliest chapter in crypto historical past. After twelve lengthy years, two main court docket battles and one very cussed landfill, the Newport, Wales engineer is ending his search. You may bear in mind him. He is the one who by accident misplaced 8,000 bitcoins…now value roughly $883 million. He has formally waved the white flag on recovering them. But he’s turning his loss into a brand new hustle. Let us recap.

Howells’ story has been digital legend since 2013, when he claims his ex-girlfriend mistakenly threw away a tough drive holding his Bitcoin pockets. For the file, I by no means thought was an accident, however that’s my POV. Since then, he’s been battling Newport City Council for permission to dig up the landfill the place he believes it lies buried below tons of waste. His efforts has not been low-cost – $149,000.

Earlier this 12 months, Howells made one final Hail Mary. He made a multi-million-dollar provide to purchase your complete landfill earlier than the council closes it in 2026. But, for some cause, the council wasn’t having it. It could possibly be the $149,000 in authorized prices he owes them. “We will not be spending any more of our officers’ time on this issue until that payment is made,” the council instructed the BBC. Damn.

Howells fired again, “If they don’t wish to sell the site, they should say so clearly. But this tactic of using unrelated debts to shut down a lawful offer—one that’s in the public interest—raises serious questions, not just legally but morally.” I really agree with him. I knew he would by no means discover that drive, however now he’s bought a brand new drive.

Ceiniog Coin. Instead of attempting to dig up his lacking tens of millions, Howells plans to again a brand new cryptocurrency. Will, this work… one way or the other linking this new coin to the worth of his legendary misplaced pockets? Seems so.

Crypto knowledgeable Josh Riddict instructed the BBC the concept really is sensible in precept. “Since James’ wallet is publicly known and the blockchain is there for all to see, it’s easy evidence that these 8,000 coins do indeed exist,” Riddict stated. “The need to readily access them to ‘prove’ their existence simply isn’t required. Ultimately, the market will decide how valuable they deem this new coin offering to be.”

After over a decade of digging, Howells now says he’s prepared to maneuver ahead. Good luck with Ceiniog Coin, bro. I hope you get even a fraction of that $883 million! 

Damn…

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