James Howells is famous for throwing his Bitcoin in the bin. Battling with a local landfill site to reclaim it, he now plans to tokenise his ownership of the coin to buy the land it resides on.
A UK resident who lost a hard drive containing 8,000 BTC has now changed tactics. In his ongoing battle with a local council to excavate a landfill site where he believes it lies, he is using tokenisation to fund the process. Despite repeated attempts, which have been denied by the council and courts, he now believes this could be a step forward. But will it sway the council after so many setbacks?
The Renewed Attempt
James Howells, the man famous for losing the bitcoin, has not given up. Reports were circulating that he had halted his search for the lost cryptocurrency, with posts on social media ruminating on this. However, Howells then disclosed to one media outlet that he had not given up but was instead attempting to launch an Ordinals-based token, in an attempt to buy the whole site. This would represent 21% of the missing wallets’ total value.
Bitcoin is currently sitting at around $114,800, and according to exchange Binance, it has been elevated near all-time highs, previously at $122,000, on the back of strong economic data. This includes modest strength in safe-haven gold and stable oil prices. If it holds at its current price, this would make his wallet worth around $915 million.
Representatives from the council have not made a reply, despite the large offer on the table. Howells has said that if they sell, then tokenisation efforts will begin. If they refuse, then Howells will cease dialogue with the council and will no longer be pursuing the retrieval of the Bitcoin with them.
A ruling by the High Court earlier in the year stated that Howells was still the legal owner of the Bitcoin, not Newport Council. However, while he owns the 8,000 bitcoins contained within, the hard drive itself is property of the council and is still on their land. His plan is to tokenise ownership of this Bitcoin into a Bitcoin Layer 2 smart token. It will be named Ceiniog Coin (INI). This will only be possible with a planned update, which will remove the byte cap.
What is Tokenisation?
Tokenisation is a process where the ownership rights of an asset are placed on a blockchain. Imagine this as a form of digital certificate. It may say you own a piece of land, a painting or in this case, Bitcoin.
Many people know them from the concept of Non-Fungible Tokens. These are digital artworks, such as pictures or pieces of music, which exist only on the blockchain. Whoever owns them also owns the tokenised code, certifying their authenticity. According to Binance Research, in June alone, the sales of NFT products increased by 7.22%. However, the blockchain Ethereum has been losing a large part of its market share, with others moving to rivals like Immutable.
It is not just artwork and games that tokenisation can be used for. There are plans underway in both Nigeria and the Central African Republic to tokenise land registry, allowing verification and sales to take place on the blockchain. It is hoped this will speed up the process and increase transparency.
How Did Howells Lose the Bitcoin?
In May, it was announced that Howell’s story was so spectacular that a movie was going to be made about it. An American production company named LEBUL have acquired the rights. He explained that he had around 200 offers from companies, some of which were BAFTA-winning.
Howells was an IT engineer. In 2013, he returned home to find his partner (now an ex) had conducted a spring clean. Part of that involved throwing out one of his old hard drives, which happened to contain a cold wallet storing around 8000 bitcoin. It was then promptly sent to a landfill by his local council.
There have been numerous attempts to get the council to excavate the landfill. Cost and the damage to the environment have been the main concerns. It has involved legal battles, and Howells has even offered to split the profits with them. At one point, he even considered using AI to help locate it.
While the high court said he owns the bitcoin, they quashed any chance he had of reclaiming it. They threw out his request for £495 million in compensation and any efforts to gain a court order to access the landfill site. He then represented himself at the Court of Appeal and is now considering a move to the European Court of Human Rights.
It seems unlikely Howells will retrieve the bitcoin. Even with access to the site, there is no guarantee it will be found. This goose chase may lead him back to square one, and the bitcoin may remain a long-lost legend.
Conclusion
James Howells’ latest strategy represents a continuation of his decade-long effort to recover his lost Bitcoin. While tokenisation could offer a new avenue for funding and ownership, its success ultimately depends on the willingness of Newport Council to engage. With legal and environmental obstacles still in place, the outcome remains uncertain. For now, the case serves as a reminder of both the opportunities and challenges tied to digital assets, as well as the complexities that arise when real-world property intersects with blockchain technology.
