Judge Shuts Down Man’s Decade-Long Fight To Recover $750 Million Bitcoin Fortune

James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, Wales, has officially lost his decade-long legal battle to recover a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoins—now worth approximately $750 million. A judge ruled against Howells, rejecting his bid to excavate a landfill where he believes the valuable hard drive was accidentally discarded in 2013.
Howells, an early adopter of Bitcoin, mistakenly threw away the hard drive when the cryptocurrency had little value. Over the years, as Bitcoin’s price soared—recently reaching $94,000 per coin—Howells persistently sought permission from the Newport City Council to search the landfill. He even offered to fund the excavation and share 25% of any recovered fortune with the council and the community.
Despite his proposals, the council repeatedly denied his requests, citing environmental risks and concerns about disturbing 1.4 million tons of landfill waste. Howells claimed he had narrowed down the hard drive’s location to a 100,000-ton section, but his efforts were blocked.
James Howells threw away $750 million of bitcoin accidentally a decade ago and has been trying to recover the hard drive from a landfill ever since. Today, a judge has rejected his latest attempt to search through 110,000 tons of garbage for his digital gold. pic.twitter.com/douIDzDdQO
— Documenting ₿itcoin 📄 (@DocumentingBTC) January 11, 2025
Judge Keyser KC dismissed the lawsuit, stating that Howells had “no reasonable grounds” for his claim and no realistic chance of success. The judge supported the council’s stance that it legally owns the landfill’s contents, including the hard drive.
So you thought you had a bad day? It could always be worse. For instance:
HISTORY: 🟠 James Howells threw away $750 million worth of #bitcoin accidentally a decade ago.
He has been trying to recover the hard drive from a landfill ever since.
A judge has recently rejected his… pic.twitter.com/jUBh7gN9iN
— Alan Knitowski ∞/21M (@alanknit) January 12, 2025
Howells expressed deep frustration over the decision, calling it a “kick in the teeth.” He criticized the ruling for ending his battle without allowing a full trial where he could present his case. “This ruling has taken everything from me and left me with nothing,” he said.
The decision ends Howells’ dream of recovering his lost Bitcoin fortune and sharing the wealth with his community. His case highlights the irreversible nature of cryptocurrency loss and the legal obstacles individuals face when trying to reclaim digital assets.
Despite assembling a team of experts and negotiating for years, Howells now finds himself out of options, closing the chapter on one of the most high-profile Bitcoin loss stories to date.