Man’s Bid to Buy Landfill with Lost $923M Bitcoin Fails: Here’s His New Strategy

A man who believes he lost access to $923 million worth of Bitcoin faced another setback when the city of Newport, Rhode Island, turned down his offer to purchase its landfill. He is now devising a plan to utilize the lost Bitcoin to finance a recycling venture. James Howells, who mistakenly discarded a hard drive containing his Bitcoin keys in 2013, has persistently sought to recover his digital fortune. After years of rejections from the Newport City Council, Howells recently presented a proposal to acquire the landfill for $11 million. The purpose of this acquisition was to secure permission to excavate the site in search of the missing hard drive. However, the City Council rejected the offer, stating it wasn’t “in the best interest of the city.” Undeterred by this setback, Howells has launched a new initiative focused on establishing a plastic waste recycling plant in Newport. He believes this project will not only address the issue of plastic pollution but also provide employment opportunities for the local community. Howells intends to finance the project using a portion of his lost Bitcoin, should he succeed in recovering it. “I remain hopeful that I can find the hard drive, and I am committed to doing everything I can to make that happen,” he stated.