James Howells, a British IT engineer who accidentally discarded a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin in 2013, says he hasn’t given up, he’s just taking a new path.
The drive, buried in a Newport, Wales landfill, is now worth over $915 million based on current Bitcoin prices. Over the years, Howells made several efforts to excavate the site, including a formal offer between $33 million and $40 million sent to the Newport City Council on July 1, 2025. The council has not responded.
With no progress on excavation, Howells has announced a new strategy, to tokenize his legal ownership of the lost bitcoin. Backed by a UK High Court ruling, he maintains that while the council may control the hardware, the digital contents 8,000 BTC remain legally his.
Howells is now developing Ceiniog Coin (INI), a Bitcoin Layer 2 token backed by the lost bitcoin. Set to launch in late 2025, 800B Ceiniog Coin will leverage an upcoming Bitcoin network upgrade that expands OP_RETURN functionality.
An initial coin offering (ICO) is also planned later this year. The token will represent 21% of the wallet’s lost value, allowing supporters to back the project. The goal is to build a fast, scalable Web3 payment system secured by the Bitcoin blockchain.
Despite ending talks with the city council, Howells insists he hasn’t given up, and that he’s just building something new.