Newport’s $800M Bitcoin treasure truly lost forever, or could it still be found? | Credit: Getty Images.
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Key Takeaways
CCN asked ChatGPT and Grok to predict whether James Howells’ missing $800 million Bitcoin hard drive can be recovered from Newport’s landfill.
Despite repeated rejections from Newport City Council, Howells has continued to push ambitious recovery plans.
While ChatGPT and Grok frame the saga as a treasure-hunt comeback story, the reality is remarkably more grim.
Over a decade ago, James Howells made what is now considered one of the most expensive mistakes in crypto history when he accidentally discarded a hard drive holding the keys to 8,000 Bitcoins.
Today, that hard drive, if it still exists, lies buried deep in a Newport, Wales landfill, potentially worth over $800 million.
The story has captured global imagination and sparked fantasies in every treasure hunter’s mind.
As options continue to be discussed, CCN has turned to ChatGPT and Grok, the same AIs we previously asked to envision Ethereum’s next decade.
This time, we wanted to ask a simple question: Is Newport’s Bitcoin treasure truly lost forever, or can it still be found?
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As the price of Bitcoin has grown, Howells has repeatedly sought permission to excavate the site.
He has outlined detailed recovery plans that include everything from AI-driven waste sorting to robotic equipment, and he has even offered to share the proceeds with the local council and fund community projects.
Despite this, Newport City Council has consistently rejected the proposals, citing environmental risks and legal liabilities tied to disturbing a landfill.
“I’ve been denied access to even start the search. What else can I do? What else do you want me to try?
“I will try whatever you want to try, but at the end of the day, if the gatekeepers will not open the gate, there is nothing to try.”
Earlier this year, Howells launched a lawsuit in an attempt to gain permission for a search of lost Newport bitcoin, but the case was thrown out before it reached court.
Judge Keyse said Howells had “no realistic prospect of succeeding” if the case were allowed to go to trial.
Since this, the council has announced plans to close the dig, which has prompted Howell to explore the possibility of buying the whole thing.
“If Newport city council would be willing, I would potentially be interested in purchasing the landfill site ‘as is’ and have discussed this option with investment partners and it is something that is very much on the table,” he told the Guardian in February.
ChatGPT Weighs In
When asked about the chances of recovering Newport’s buried Bitcoin fortune, ChatGPT was not at all hopeful.
OpenAI’s chatbot stressed that while the effort is “technically possible,” the odds of success are “highly improbable.”
It warned that after more than a decade underground, the hard drive’s actual hardware would likely be corroded or broken.
“Even if excavation teams were to locate the drive, data recovery from such degraded conditions would be extremely uncertain,” it said.
ChatGPT also emphasized the massive scale of the challenge, likening it to finding a needle in a haystack.
“Landfills are dynamic environments. Waste shifts over time, and the chances of finding a single hard drive amid millions of tons of material are vanishingly small,” it said.
Even sophisticated tools such as AI-powered waste sorting would be unlikely to guarantee the precision needed.
However, ChatGPT did provide a small glimmer of hope.
“In a best-case scenario—if the drive is intact and can be recovered without further damage—specialized forensic labs might attempt data recovery,” it said.
While the odds remain slim, the AI noted that “data recovery miracles are sometimes possible, even from drives damaged by fire or flood.”
But overall, ChatGPT said the pursuit had “more in common with chasing El Dorado than with modern asset recovery. Conceivable, yes—but practically out of reach.”
Grok’s Prediction
Grok, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot known for its irreverent tone, had a more colorful take on Howells’ ongoing quest.
The chatbot began by likening the lost 8,000 Bitcoins to a “bad Tinder date” that some might be too quick to write off.
For Grok, the sheer scale of the challenge, 110,000 tons of landfill waste, narrowed to a 15,000-ton zone called Cell 2, was more of a dramatic backdrop than a problem.
“Sure, it’s buried under a mountain of trash … and yeah, after 12 years, that poor hard drive might be corroded to heck or squashed flatter than my hopes for a drama-free day. But hold up, there’s a vibe shift coming,” it said.
That “shift” is embodied in Howells himself, according to Grok.
“Howells is out here with main character energy, refusing to let this go, and I’m kinda here for it,” Grok said, noting his plans to buy the landfill outright once it closes in 2025.
Backed by hedge fund investors and armed with high-tech detection proposals, Grok saw him less as a man chasing a lost cause and more as someone scripting a comeback.
“He’s talking about buying the whole landfill … which is giving boss moves, like he’s ready to rewrite the script.”
Even the question of whether the drive could have survived drew Grok’s optimism.
“Don’t sleep on the tech—AI and fancy detection gear could make finding this thing less like searching for a needle in a haystack and more like spotting a glittery purse in a thrift store,” it suggested, citing Howells’ claim that the hard drive’s casing could have shielded the data.
“He’s throwing out an 80% chance of recovery if the platter’s intact, and I’m not saying he’s got it in the bag, but that’s not just him blowing smoke,” it added.
CCN’s Reality Check
While Grok paints the saga as a high-stakes treasure hunt with cinematic appeal, the practical outlook is far less dramatic.
Moisture and immense pressure have likely caused irreversible damage to the hard drive, making data recovery almost impossible even with state-of-the-art techniques.
Equally, excavating 15,000 tons of waste from a regulated landfill is not a straightforward dig and would require millions of dollars in disposal costs.
Meanwhile, Newport Council has been consistent in its stance, blocking any attempt to begin a dig.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
