Newport landfill site in £620m Bitcoin saga set to close
2025-02-09
Category: news

A landfill site where a man lost a hard drive containing a Bitcoin wallet now worth about £620m is set to close. James Howells, from Newport, claimed his former partner had mistakenly thrown out the hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins in 2013. He tried to sue the city's council to get access to the site on Docks Way or get £495m in compensation, but this was dismissed by a judge. Newport council documents show the landfill site is expected to close in the 2025-26 financial year. 
The city's household waste recycling centre, to the north, will stay open.A council spokesman said: "The landfill has been in exploitation since the early 2000s and is coming to the end of its life, therefore the council is working on a planned closure and capping of the site over the next two years."Reports show the authority expects to miss out on revenue worth £777,000 next year, and £198,000 the year after.The council has secured planning permission for a solar farm on part of the land.That was approved last August and is expected to power new bin lorries.The authority said it currently had seven electric ones and will phase out diesel vehicles, replacing them with electric models "over the next few years".
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is often described as a cryptocurrency, a virtual currency or a digital currency and is a type of money that is completely virtual - there are no physical coins or notes.You can use it to buy products and services, but not many shops accept Bitcoin.In China it is illegal to trade or mine Bitcoin and its use is restricted in countries including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.