A landfill in South Wales is currently being guarded around the clock from Bitcoin hunters seeking their fortune.
The bizarre set of circumstances has come about after James Howells, 38, an early investor in cryptocurrency, tracked down the location where he believes more than 8,000 Bitcoin he accidentally threw away the keys to may have wound up.
The loss followed a misunderstanding that saw his partner throw away a harddrive containing software that would allow him to access the assets, which he’d been storing in a black bin bag.
The estimated worth of the stash of digital currency will likely stand at approximately £1.5 billion by the end of the year, if the value of Bitcoin continues on its current trajectory.
However, retrieving the drive would require excavating a potential 100,000 tonnes of rubbish buried under the Newport Household Waste Recycling Centre in South Wales, something for which the council has refused Howells permission.
Speaking with the MailOnline, a worker at the centre said: ‘There’s 24-hour security – everyone who works here knows what’s supposed to be buried in the landfill under the hills.
‘But the other problem is, where would they start looking? The two small hills cover several acres, they’d never find it.
‘The owner has visited the site many times – if it’s here it’s under one of those two hills in the distance.
‘He’s adamant but no one can know for sure if it’s here – some of the stuff that arrives is sent off to incinerators.
‘Even if the council gave permission it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It would be impossible.
‘Unless the computer stuff has some sort of homing device on it, there’s just no way. The fella should just forget about it and move on.’
Howells is said to have offered Newport Council as much as £10m of the money if he is permitted to excavate the area.
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He told MailOnline: ‘Unfortunately at present it doesn’t appear that they want to be cooperative and work together which will ultimately lead to us issuing high court proceedings against them in the near future.
‘Some experts believe that by the end of the year the price will rise to $25,000 per coin. That would make my hard drive worth £1.5billion. The council may be happy to leave that in a landfill but I’m not.
‘They want me to go away and forget about it, but how could anyone? Why should I back down? All I want is a chance to get my property back.’
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