- James Howells loses his legal appeal to search a landfill for his lost 8,000 BTC, now valued at $672 million.
- Newport City Council blocks excavation, citing environmental risks, while Howells considers a final appeal to the European Court.
The decade-long legal battle of James Howells, the British IT professional who accidentally discarded a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin [BTC], has hit yet another setback.
A UK court recently dismissed his latest appeal, further diminishing his chances of recovering his lost fortune, now valued at nearly $672 million.
Despite the repeated rejections from Newport City Council, Howells remains determined, claiming he has one “last legal option” left.
With Bitcoin’s astronomical rise since 2013, his fight to retrieve the hard drive has garnered global attention.
A costly mistake: How 8,000 Bitcoin ended up in a landfill
In 2013, when Bitcoin was trading at approximately $100 per coin, Howells mistakenly threw away a laptop hard drive containing the private keys to his Bitcoin holdings.
At the time, the cryptocurrency’s total worth was around $800,000, a fraction of its current value.
Unaware of its future significance, the drive ended up in the Docksway landfill in Newport, Wales.
Over the years, Bitcoin’s price surged to $83,969.10 as of March 2025, catapulting the lost Bitcoin’s value into the hundreds of millions.
Legal battles and courtroom setbacks
Since realizing his mistake, Howells has repeatedly sought permission from Newport City Council to excavate the landfill in hopes of recovering the hard drive.
He proposed funding the operation himself and even offered the council and local community a portion of the recovered Bitcoin.
However, his requests have consistently been denied due to environmental concerns and legal constraints.
In December 2024, Howells escalated the matter by filing a lawsuit against the council, demanding £495 million in damages. He argued that he should have the right to search for his lost digital fortune.
However, in January 2025, Judge Keyser KC ruled against him, stating that his case had “no realistic prospect of succeeding.”
The court upheld the council’s position, asserting that any item discarded in the landfill legally becomes council property, reinforcing their decision to prevent excavation.
A final attempt: What’s next for Howells?
Despite the court ruling, Howells is not giving up. He publicly stated that he plans to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that the refusal of Newport City Council violates his property rights.
This could be his last chance at securing legal permission to dig for the missing Bitcoin.
Adding to the situation’s urgency, the council has announced plans to close the landfill by 2026 to develop a solar farm on the site.
With this impending development, Howells has suggested that if legal avenues fail, he may attempt to buy the landfill to gain control over the search operation.
Whether he can acquire the land and whether the hard drive is even recoverable after more than a decade remains uncertain.
