A MAN who has £74million worth of Bitcoin stored on a computer he accidentally threw away is offering the council 10 per cent of his fortune if they allow him onto the site to hunt for it.

James Howells, 32, from Wales, invested heavily in Bitcoin, dubbed "digital gold," long before it was widely known.

4 James Howells was an early convert to the technology long before Bitcoin became all the rage Credit: Rex Features

But four years ago he threw out an old computer on whose hard drive were the ownership codes of his 7,500 Bitcoin stash, worth around $700,000 at the time. Today James estimates that his portfolio is now worth $107,919,144 - or £74million.

However he cannot access it, as the hard drive was dumped in a landfill in Newport, Wales, when he threw away his computer by accident.

The IT worker has pleaded with the council several times to allow him to dig for the hard drive, but they has said no on "several occasions", Wales Online reports.

But now is a bid to convince them, he is offering the council a 10 per cent cut which would be worth £7.4million.

4 The 32-year-old threw out an old computer which at the time had Bitcoin worth around $700,000, but could now be worth $1million Credit: Rex Features

He said: “How can they leave $100million in the ground when making cuts to services left right and centre?

“My investors have even offered to put a sum of money into a bank ‘bond’ just in case we mess it up, the council can access this money to fix it properly themselves.

“I’ve also told them I would adhere to all safety standards when digging and also put the site back to its original condition when finished.

“They are not interested in helping at all because the people in charge have never given me the chance to explain the details and the exact situation to them.”

4 Docks Way landfill site, which belongs to Newport City Council, in South Wales, is where the computer is thought to have been dumped

A spokesperson for Newport City Council said: “Newport City Council has been contacted in the past about the possibility of retrieving a piece of IT hardware said to contain Bitcoins.

“However, the cost of digging up the landfill, storing and treating the waste could run into millions of pounds - without any guarantee of either finding the hardware or it still being in working order.

“The council has told the individual concerned on several occasions that excavation is not possible under our licencing permit, added to the fact excavation itself would have a huge environmental impact on the surrounding area.

4 The digital currency is widely tipped to play a key role in the future economy Credit: Getty - Contributor

“The landfill section of HWRC (Household Waste Recycling Centre) is not accessible to the public as it is a permitted facility with conditions that include security and prevention of illegal access to the facility regulated by NRW (National Resources Wales), therefore any potential treasure hunters could not access the site and would be committing a criminal offence.

“The landfill contains around 350,000 tonnes of waste with an annual input of 50,000 tonnes.

“It is likely that the hardware would have suffered significant Galvanic corrosion due to the presence of landfill leachates and gasses.”

What is bitcoin? Your guide to the virtual currency Bitcoin is a virtual currency which was created in 2009 by an unknown person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto.

Transactions are made without middlemen, so there are no transaction fees and no need to give your real name.

The value of Bitcoin, like all currencies, is determined by how much people are willing to exchange it for.

To process Bitcoin transactions, a procedure called ‘mining’ must take place, which involves a computer solving a difficult mathematical problem with a 64-digit solution.

For each problem solved, one block of Bitcoins is processed.

In addition, the miner is rewarded with new bitcoins.

To compensate for the growing power of computer chips, the difficulty of the puzzles is adjusted to ensure a steady stream of new bitcoins are produced each day.

Bitcoin keeps users’ transactions relatively private, letting them buy or sell anything without easily tracing it back to them.

That’s why it has become the currency of choice for people online buying drugs or other illicit activities.

That’s why it has become the currency of choice for people online buying drugs or other illicit activities. Victims of the WannaCry ransomware virus which crippled the NHS were asked to pay a ransom in bitcoin to unlock their infected computers.

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