Lost cryptocurrency drive worth $920 million. A recipe for overcoming defeat
James Howells gave up searching for the disk in the landfill. But he did not give up on recovering the money deposited on the disk. Here’s what he came up with.
This is one of the most famous and unlucky stories in the cryptocurrency world. In 2013, James Howells, an IT specialist from Wales, took his laptop apart and put the hard drive in a drawer. However, it was mistakenly thrown into the trash by his former partner, containing the keys to 8,000 Bitcoins, worth approximately $920 million today.
The desperate man repeatedly offered the Welsh city of Newport to finance a gigantic excavation of the city’s landfill at its own expense and employ specialist teams of engineers and data recovery experts. In vain. Eventually he came up with another idea.
James Howells’ new idea for regaining his fortune. Tokenization
The city never agreed to start searching for the dump, so the disk – and with it the cryptocurrencies – became the property of Newport.
In early 2025, Howells tried to sue the city council to gain access to the landfill or get $620 million. compensation (£495 million) for blocking legal access to the landfill, but his case was dismissed by a judge of the British Supreme Court. Another time, an IT specialist wanted to buy the entire landfill because it was to be closed in the 2025-2026 financial year and turned into a solar farm. The city also did not consent to this, citing safety and environmental protection issues.
Howells announced that he would refer the case to the European Court of Human Rights, but in the meantime he opted for a new strategy of tokenizing his legal ownership rights.
Ceiniog Coin (INI) exists. It is worth a fraction of a cent of a euro
Instead of tearing your hair out, the computer scientist released his own cryptocurrency, which encapsulates the legend of the missing bitcoins.
The Ceiniog Coin cryptocurrency (INI token) appeared on the market at the end of 2025. This project gained notoriety, among others, as a tool for tokenizing the equivalent of lost Bitcoins on the 8,000 blockchain. BTC.
The owner ensures that his INI tokens are exchangeable for mini BTC units (satoshi). The token is available on decentralized exchanges (DEX) and in Web3 wallets such as OKX DEX or Phantom. The market capitalization of the project is approximately PLN 23,000. dollars. Total emissions are 800 billion units. The current price of Ceiniog Coin (INI) is approximately 0.0₄19816 euros (a fraction of a cent of a euro).
