James Howells

James Howells (born 1985) is a British IT professional from Newport, Wales, best known for accidentally discarding a hard drive containing private keys to approximately 8,000 bitcoins in 2013. The hard drive, believed to have been disposed of at a local landfill, has been at the center of ongoing media attention due to the substantial increase in the value of bitcoin in the following years. Despite several attempts to negotiate access for an organized search of the landfill site with Newport City Council, his efforts have been unsuccessful due to environmental and logistical concerns. Howells’ predicament has highlighted issues regarding digital asset management, personal responsibility in the cryptocurrency space, and the environmental implications of landfill mining.