Bitcoin Billionaire Loses Appeal, Faces Landfill Closure

James Howells, a software engineer, is facing significant legal hurdles in his quest to recover 8,000 Bitcoin from a landfill in Wales. The UK Court of Appeals recently dismissed his latest appeal, marking a major setback in his years-long battle to retrieve the cryptocurrency, which is now valued at approximately $672 million.

Howells' journey began in 2013 when he accidentally discarded a laptop hard drive containing the private keys to his Bitcoin holdings. At the time, the cryptocurrency was trading at around $100 per coin, making the total value of his holdings approximately $800,000. Unbeknownst to him, the hard drive ended up in the Docksway landfill in Newport, Wales. The value of Bitcoin has since surged, making the lost cryptocurrency worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Since realizing his mistake, Howells has been engaged in a protracted legal battle with Newport City Council to gain permission to excavate the landfill. He has proposed funding the operation himself and even offered to share a portion of the recovered Bitcoin with the council and the local community. However, his requests have been consistently denied due to environmental concerns and legal constraints. In December 2024, Howells filed a lawsuit against the council, demanding £495 million in damages and arguing for his right to search for his lost digital fortune. Unfortunately, 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.

Despite the court ruling, Howells is not giving up. He has publicly stated that he plans to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming 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.