James Howells signs away some of the ownerships to his missing 8,000 bitcoin to incentivize the council’s permit.
The UK national, James Howells, who claimed to have lost an 8,000-bitcoin wallet in a dump, is now doubling down on his previous efforts to retrieve the missing wallet from the Newport landfill.
$182 million bitcoin lost in a landfill
The 37-year-old IT engineer reportedly threw away the hard drive to the bitcoins he earned from mining in 2013. Following the recent cryptocurrency rally, Howells severally attempted to obtain a permit from the Newport council to dig the landfill in search of the missing coins, which are roughly worth $182 million at the current market price.
However, the council turned down the request due to environmental concerns. Now, Howells has secured funding and expertise, which he believes would enable him to conduct the search in an effective and environmentally beneficial way and to gain the permit from the Newport council.
The funding has been secured. We’ve brought on an AI specialist. Their technology can easily be retrained to search for a hard drive. […] We’ve also got an environmental team on board. We’ve basically got a well-rounded team of various experts, with various expertise, which, when we all come together, are capable of completing this task to a very high standard.
James Howells
Council says it cannot accept the proposals
In addition to this, Howells said he would donate 10% of the funds to the development of the city’s cryptocurrency hub. He also pledges to set up cryptocurrency terminals and donate £50 worth of Bitcoin to every person in the city. But the council is more concerned about the ecological risks involved.
“Mr. Howells’ proposals pose significant ecological risk which we cannot accept, and indeed are prevented from considering by the terms of our permit,” a spokesperson for the Newport council said.
