James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, Wales, has lost his legal battle to recover a hard drive containing Bitcoin worth over $770 million. The hard drive, accidentally discarded in a landfill in 2013, stored more than 8,000 Bitcoins mined in 2009. Howells has consistently sought access to the Newport landfill but faced opposition from the Newport City Council due to environmental permits.
In the latest development, Judge Keyser, Circuit Commercial Judge for Wales, dismissed Howells’ case, stating it had “no realistic prospect” of success in a full trial, as reported by the BBC. Since 2013, Howells has repeatedly requested permission to search the site, even offering the council a share of the Bitcoin if the hard drive could be retrieved.
Interest in Howells’ ordeal heightened in 2024 against the backdrop of Bitcoin’s unprecedented rally to $100,000, marking a substantial increase in its annual returns.
