A discarded hard drive, a billion-dollar Bitcoin wallet, and a trash-strewn landfill in Wales are now the foundation for a high-stakes docuseries.
Entertainment company LEBUL announced this week that it has acquired exclusive rights to the story of James Howells, the British engineer who famously lost access to 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC) in 2013.
Dubbed ‘The Buried Bitcoin: The Real-Life Treasure Hunt of James Howells,’ the multi-platform project will span a premium docuseries, a podcast, and a social-first storytelling campaign.
It aims to dramatize Howells’ decade-long quest to recover the drive—now estimated to be worth more than $800 million, from a municipal dump in Newport, Wales.
“This isn’t just content,” said Reese Van Allen, President of Unscripted Entertainment at LEBUL. “It’s a live-action tech thriller with nearly a billion dollars on the line.”
Howells, an early Bitcoin miner, says his former partner accidentally tossed the hard drive in 2013. Since then, he’s taken Newport City Council to court multiple times, seeking permission to excavate the site or demanding a share of the value, at one point requesting £495 million in compensation.
Despite offering to split any recovered funds with the city and local residents, courts have ruled against him, citing environmental and property law concerns.
Howells’ legal battle
Most recently, Howells lost a major legal battle in Cardiff High Court in early 2025. The council plans to shut down the landfill during the 2025–2026 fiscal year and redevelop part of it into a solar farm.
Undeterred, Howells has suggested he may appeal to the Supreme Court—or even try to buy the entire landfill.
LEBUL’s adaptation will blend real-time environmental conflict, blockchain lore, and personal obsession. According to the company, global streaming platforms and crypto sponsors are already circling the project.
Howells’ story, often likened to a modern-day treasure hunt, will now reach a broader audience as LEBUL turns a forgotten piece of e-waste into entertainment gold.
