James Howells (born 1986) is a Welsh entrepreneur and information technology specialist, best known for accidentally discarding a hard drive containing 7,500 bitcoins, now worth hundreds of millions of dollars.^[1][2][3] He is currently founding a new technology company focused on blockchain solutions and digital security known as Ceiniog Coin.^[3]

Howells was born in 1985 or 1986.^[4] He was influenced at a young age by his mother, who was involved in the production of microchips.^[5][6][7] By his teens, he was a regular user of the internet. Howells began building computers at the age of 13 and became a Napster user around the time of Bitcoin's inception. Working various IT jobs, he learnt about encryption while working on a Bowman communications system. Howells taught himself about Bitcoin in December 2008 and began studying the concept a month later. After the 2008 financial crisis, Howells considered fiat currencies a "scam", favouring the vision of Bitcoin inventor Nakamoto instead. He became an early adopter of the technology in 2009. By 2013, Howells was living in Newport with his three children and then-partner Hafina Eddy-Evans.^[8] The two later broke up, with Eddy-Evans leaving with the children. In 2021, Howells worked from home maintaining emergency-response systems in Wales. A year later, he described himself as a cryptocurrency and blockchain project manager.^[9]

In 2013, Howells mistakenly discarded a hard drive containing approximately 7,500 bitcoins,^[10] mined during his early involvement in the cryptocurrency.^[3] The hard drive was accidentally thrown away during a home cleanup and ended up in a landfill site in Newport.^[3][11]

Howells has made several appeals to Newport City Council for permission to excavate the landfill to recover the hard drive but has faced refusals. The council has cited safety risks including dangerous gases, methane, and asbestos, as well as the unlikelihood of the hard drive being intact after compaction and corrosion.^[12][13][14]

Following his high-profile Bitcoin loss, Howells has become an advocate for digital asset security and has spoken publicly about best practices in cryptocurrency management.^[15] He is also active in IT entrepreneurship and is founding a new company that aims to develop blockchain-based security solutions known as Ceiniog Coin.^[3][16]

• Cryptocurrency
• Cryptocurrency wallet