Man Who Lost Nearly $1,000,000,000 In Bitcoin in Landfill Launches Bid To Tokenize 8,000 BTC Stash

A man from the United Kingdom who accidentally misplaced his crypto wallet containing a $1 billion stash of Bitcoin ( BTC ) is launching a new bid to tokenize his missing stash.

In a post on the social media platform X, James Howells – a man who mistakenly threw away his crypto wallet containing the BTC nearly a decade ago – says he’s not giving up despite being rejected numerous times by the Newport City Council to launch a search to find the coins.

“For over 12 years, I tried everything to engage with Newport City Council: public proposals, percentages, mediation, legal action, and a formal $25 million offer. $1 Billion and they ignored it all. No response. No logic. No leadership. They want me to give up, but I am done asking for permission.”

Howells says he’s planning to tokenize the entire missing wallet, which contains 8,000 BTC, by launching a new blockchain called Ceiniog Coin (INI) that is set to launch in late 2025.

“I’m tokenizing the entire wallet – 8,000 BTC – into 800 billion Ceiniog Coin (INI) – 1:1 satoshi value match.

• • Built on Bitcoin
• • Powered by OP_RETURN
• • Integrates with Stacks, Runes, Ordinals
• • Launching Late-2025

To the established and distinguished gatekeepers who blocked me for over a decade: You can block the gates. You can pack the courts. But you cannot block the blockchain. Crypto already won. Ceiniog is coming – and your world is collapsing.”

According to previous reports, Howells offered the city council $70 million in 2021 for permission to search the landfill to recover his hard drive, but was rejected due to environmental concerns.

In February, the city council announced that the landfill was formally closing down sometime during the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

BTC is trading for $115,429 at time of writing, a 2% gain on the day.

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