Update Jan. 9, 2:20 pm UTC: This article has been updated to include Howells’ response and a picture of his Bitcoin address.
James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, Wales, has lost his legal battle to recover a hard drive containing more than $770 million worth of Bitcoin.
The hard drive, which holds Bitcoin (BTC) mined in 2009, was mistakenly thrown away and ended up in a landfill. The Newport City Council has denied access to the landfill due to environmental permit restrictions.
Howells Bitcoin address. Source: James Howells
In the latest development, Judge Keyser, the Circuit Commercial Judge for Wales, has thrown out Howells’ legal case seeking access to the Newport landfill to recover his hard drive, according to a Jan. 9 BBC report.
Keyser said that the legal case had “no realistic prospect” of succeeding at a full trial.
Since 2013, Howells has repeatedly requested the council’s permission to access the site, offering a share of the missing Bitcoin if the hard drive were found.
BTC/USD, 1-year chart. Source: Cointelegraph
Howells’ case gained growing interest in 2024 amid Bitcoin’s historic rally to $100,000, which saw Bitcoin generate over 130% in yearly returns.
The case’s dismissal came as a disappointing decision after the 12-year legal battle, according to Howells, who told Cointelegraph that his case was not given the proper level of consideration:
“My case was not given the proper level of consideration that the value of the asset in question deserved and I feel that the UK court system in general has failed me in the fact that I have not even been given the opportunity for justice at full trial.”
However, Howells’ ownership of the Bitcoin hard drive was not questioned during the legal hearing, which was an important acknowledgment, Howells said, adding:
“It will pave the way for me to take appropriate steps to monetize my ownership of the 8,000 Bitcoin digital assets in the future via potential tokenization avenues. “
Howells’ legal team remains in negotiation with the Newport City Council and the court over the final wording of the order.
Related: Bitcoin price dip to $92.5K caused by Fed interest rate concerns: Analyst
The $770 million Bitcoin hard drive saga
Howells, an early Bitcoin adopter, mined 8,000 BTC in 2009 when it cost nearly nothing to do so. He accidentally discarded the hard drive in 2013 when the cryptocurrency was trading at just $13.
BTC/USD, monthly chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Bitcoin has increased by over 704,000x in the 12 years since 2013 when Howells began his legal battle, Cointelegraph data shows.
Related: KULR Technology predicts $200K Bitcoin price after buying $97K dip
For more than a decade, Howells has fought to reclaim his lost BTC fortune. He has repeatedly pursued negotiations with Newport City Council for permission to search the landfill, but the council has consistently refused.
The council has also repeatedly declined to meet Howells in person.
The council said on Oct. 11, 2024, it had informed Howells “multiple times that excavation is not possible” under its environmental permit due to the “huge negative environmental impact on the surrounding area.”
Howells has accused the council of violating environmental regulations, claiming to have “100 independently verified pieces of evidence” to support his allegations.
Howells said the council has been breaching its landfill permit “by leeching arsenic, asbestos, ammonium nitrate and methane gases into the local environment.”
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