Twelve years after accidentally throwing away a hard drive holding 8,000 Bitcoins, now worth nearly €649 million (approx. $1.5 billion NZD), Welsh IT worker James Howells is giving up the hunt.
But his story isn’t over: it’s now the subject of a documentary series.
In 2013, when Bitcoin was still niche, Howells discarded the drive during an office clean-out in Newport, Wales.
As Bitcoin’s value skyrocketed, the device’s worth grew from about €6 million (approx. $12 million NZD) to roughly €649 million.
Howells mounted an ambitious search effort, proposing the use of AI drones and robotic excavators to scour the landfill. He offered to fund the operation himself but faced repeated refusals from the local council, which cited environmental risks and legal ownership issues.
UK law further blocked his efforts. Anything discarded in a landfill becomes the legal property of the site operator, and judges ruled there was no viable chance of recovering the degraded drive. In 2024, a court rejected Howells’ final appeal.
Now, an American production company, LEBUL, has secured the rights to produce The Buried Bitcoin: The Real-Life Treasure Hunt of James Howells, a documentary series slated for release by the end of 2025.
Using visual effects and recreations, the film will explore Howells’ high-tech proposals, his courtroom struggles, and the symbolic weight of his loss.
“This is the first time I’ve really been able to show what we wanted to do on the landfill site,” Howells said, insisting he still hasn’t fully given up.
Centrist Ltd.