- James Howells loses his authorized enchantment to go looking a landfill for his misplaced 8,000 BTC, now valued at $672 million.
- Newport Metropolis Council blocks excavation, citing environmental dangers, whereas Howells considers a closing enchantment to the European Court docket.
The last decade-long authorized battle of James Howells, the British IT skilled who unintentionally discarded a tough drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin [BTC], has hit one more setback.
A UK court docket just lately dismissed his newest enchantment, additional diminishing his probabilities of recovering his misplaced fortune, now valued at almost $672 million.
Regardless of the repeated rejections from Newport Metropolis Council, Howells stays decided, claiming he has one “final authorized choice” left.
With Bitcoin’s astronomical rise since 2013, his battle to retrieve the arduous drive has garnered international consideration.
A pricey mistake: How 8,000 Bitcoin ended up in a landfill
In 2013, when Bitcoin was buying and selling at roughly $100 per coin, Howells mistakenly threw away a laptop computer arduous drive containing the non-public keys to his Bitcoin holdings.
On the time, the cryptocurrency’s whole price was round $800,000, a fraction of its present worth.
Unaware of its future significance, the drive ended up within the Docksway landfill in Newport, Wales.
Over time, Bitcoin’s worth surged to $83,969.10 as of March 2025, catapulting the misplaced Bitcoin’s worth into the a whole lot of tens of millions.
Authorized battles and courtroom setbacks
Since realizing his mistake, Howells has repeatedly sought permission from Newport Metropolis Council to excavate the landfill in hopes of recovering the arduous drive.
He proposed funding the operation himself and even supplied the council and area people a portion of the recovered Bitcoin.
Nevertheless, his requests have persistently been denied as a consequence of environmental considerations and authorized constraints.
In December 2024, Howells escalated the matter by submitting a lawsuit towards the council, demanding £495 million in damages. He argued that he ought to have the appropriate to seek for his misplaced digital fortune.
Nevertheless, in January 2025, Choose Keyser KC dominated towards him, stating that his case had “no sensible prospect of succeeding.”
The court docket upheld the council’s place, asserting that any merchandise discarded within the landfill legally turns into council property, reinforcing their resolution to stop excavation.
A closing try: What’s subsequent for Howells?
Regardless of the court docket ruling, Howells shouldn’t be giving up. He publicly stated that he plans to take his case to the European Court docket of Human Rights, arguing that the refusal of Newport Metropolis Council violates his property rights.
This may very well be his final probability at securing authorized permission to dig for the lacking Bitcoin.
Including to the state of affairs’s urgency, the council has introduced plans to shut the landfill by 2026 to develop a photo voltaic farm on the positioning.
With this impending improvement, Howells has advised that if authorized avenues fail, he could try to purchase the landfill to realize management over the search operation.
Whether or not he can purchase the land and whether or not the arduous drive is even recoverable after greater than a decade stays unsure.
