James Howells, a Welsh IT worker, lost approximately 7,500 to 8,000 Bitcoin (valued at roughly $800 million to over $900 million as of 2025) after mistakenly throwing away a hard drive in 2013. The drive is believed to be buried in a landfill in Newport, Wales, and he has spent over a decade trying to gain permission to search for it.
He is currently founding a new technology company focused on blockchain solutions and digital security known as Ceiniog Coin.
James Howells, the man who accidentally threw away a hard drive with thousands of Bitcoin (originally around 7,500 to 8,000 BTC) in 2013, has spent over a decade trying to get it back from a landfill in Wales, but has largely given up after numerous failed attempts and rejections from local authorities, with a judge ruling his quest unlikely to succeed, though he's explored tokenizing the assets and even buying the landfill site.
James Howells, the British man who lost his hard drive containing 8,000 BTC, said he no longer pursues excavating the Newport landfill but clarified that he hasn't given up on his lost bitcoin. Howells said he pivoted to a new strategy to tokenize his legal ownership of the 8,000 BTC as granted by the court.
If you had the foresight, or simply the good luck, to have invested $1,000 in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) a decade ago, and never sold, you would have more than $398,000 today.
Yes, someone really did pay 10,000 Bitcoin for two pizzas in a historic transaction on May 22, 2010, by programmer Laszlo Hanyecz, marking the first real-world purchase with cryptocurrency and becoming famous as Bitcoin Pizza Day. At the time, those 10,000 BTC were worth about $41, but now (in recent years, as Bitcoin's price has soared) they'd be worth over a billion dollars, demonstrating Bitcoin's massive growth in value.
As of 2025, an estimated 2.3 to 4 million BTC, or about 11 to 18 percent of Bitcoin's 21 million cap, are believed to be permanently lost. A 2024 River Financial report put the figure at 3.8 million, much of it tied to long-dormant addresses that have not moved coins in over a decade.
Why can't he recover the bitcoins? IronKey allows only 10 password attempts before permanently locking the device and deleting its contents. Thomas has already used eight of those tries, bit2me crypto news reports. With just two chances left, he's reluctant to risk losing everything forever.
Alongside his wife Romaine and their three daughters, he left behind stability in the Netherlands and moved first into a campsite. Since then, the family has traveled through more than 40 countries, living off their crypto assets and promoting a lifestyle based on decentralization.
Docksway landfill, Newport, Wales, 2007. The hard drive containing the private key was buried here in 2013. As of February 2025, the missing Bitcoin was worth £597 million (US$751 million). In December 2024, Howells sued the council for £495 million, with the council contesting that the device is now its property.
Ricardo Benjamín Salinas Pliego, a billionaire from Mexico and one of the three richest people in the country, has put 70% of his wealth in bitcoin.
James Howells, the man who accidentally threw away a hard drive with over 7,500 Bitcoins in 2013, has largely given up his 12-year quest to excavate it from a Welsh landfill due to council refusals and technical hurdles, shifting focus to launching his own crypto project, Ceiniog Coin (INI), while a judge ruled his recovery attempts had "no realistic prospect of success," marking a "game over" moment for the physical search.
Laszlo Hanyecz, a programmer and early Bitcoin miner, famously traded 10,000 Bitcoin for two Papa John's pizzas on May 22, 2010, marking the first documented commercial transaction for physical goods with cryptocurrency, a day now celebrated as "Bitcoin Pizza Day". At the time, the Bitcoins were worth only about $41, but the value of those coins would later grow to be worth hundreds of millions, even over a billion dollars, making it one of history's most expensive pizzas.
Key Takeaways
Blockchain data shows that there are just under 1 million wallet addresses that hold one full bitcoin. Many large holders, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, hold their bitcoin across multiple wallets, which puts the estimate for individual owners of at least one bitcoin closer to 800,000.
Key Takeaways. The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property, meaning that when you buy, sell or exchange it, this counts as a taxable event and typically results in either a capital gain or loss. When you earn income from cryptocurrency activities, this is taxed as ordinary income.
Later, Jeremy ordered the two pizzas from Papa Johns, which were then delivered to Laszlo. “How lucky they must have been to find all that money in their hands!”. Actually, Papa Johns didn't receive any Bitcoin. For a straightforward reason: Papa Johns didn't accept Bitcoin in 2010.
On May 22, 2010, the first known commercial transaction using bitcoin occurred when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz bought two Papa John's pizzas for ₿10,000, in what would later be celebrated as "Bitcoin Pizza Day".