A UK-based landfill, famously known for allegedly being the resting place of a lost hard drive holding 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC), is anticipated to cease operations. Located in Newport, Wales, east of Cardiff, the landfill is projected to close in the 2025-26 financial year, according to a Feb. 9 report by the BBC.
“The landfill, operational since the early 2000s, is nearing the end of its lifespan. Consequently, the council is preparing for an organized closure and sealing of the site over the forthcoming two years,” a spokesperson for the Newport council informed the BBC.
As part of post-closure plans, the council has obtained planning permission to establish a solar farm on part of the land, a proposal that received approval in August.
The landfill is believed to hold a significant BTC stash on a hard drive that local IT professional, James Howells, claims was accidentally thrown away by his ex-partner in 2013. Howells alleges that the drive contains approximately 8,000 BTC he mined back in 2009, which would currently be valued at roughly $768 million.
Howells has been entangled in a lengthy legal tussle with the Newport council for the past decade, suing for either permission to search the dump for the drive and proposing to share its contents if found, or to receive compensation for his loss. His case was dismissed in January, with the judge stating he had “no viable chance” of winning in a full trial.
Although Howells claimed he had AI specialists with the right technology to locate the hard drive at no cost to the council or public, the council stated in October that excavation was not feasible under its environmental permit due to the “tremendous negative environmental impact on the surrounding area.”
According to Al Leong, a Web3 executive, the 8,000 BTC purportedly on the lost drive represents a fraction of a digital abyss of lost BTC, potentially as much as 13% of the supply or approximately 3 million coins. Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, suggests that quantum computing could potentially hack Bitcoin in “lost wallets” and reintroduce it into circulation, a prospect that some experts warn could exert sell pressure on Bitcoin.
