A UK High Court judge has dismissed an attempt by James Howells to sue Newport City Council in a bid to recover a Bitcoin-filled hard drive accidentally discarded in 2013. The Bitcoin wallet, once worth very little, is now valued at approximately £598 million due to the cryptocurrency's meteoric rise in value.
Mr. Howells had sought permission to excavate the landfill where the hard drive was allegedly buried or receive £495 million in compensation. However, Judge Keyser KC ruled that the claim had "no reasonable grounds" and "no realistic prospect" of succeeding at trial.
James Howells, an early adopter of Bitcoin, successfully mined the cryptocurrency in 2009 when its value was negligible. However, in 2013, he mistakenly discarded the hard drive containing his Bitcoin wallet, which later appreciated massively.
As Bitcoin’s value soared—rising more than 80% in 2024—Mr. Howells made repeated attempts to negotiate access to the Newport landfill to search for the hard drive. He organized a team of experts to aid in its recovery and offered the council a share of the proceeds, including a 10% donation to the local community if the recovery was successful.
Newport City Council refused his requests, citing legal and environmental concerns. Their lawyer, James Goudie KC, argued that once the hard drive entered the landfill, it legally became council property. Moreover, the council's environmental permits prohibited excavating the landfill, which holds more than 1.4 million tonnes of waste.
The council also rejected Mr. Howells' financial incentives, with Mr. Goudie asserting that such offers encouraged the council to "play fast and loose" with its responsibilities.
In a written judgment, Judge Keyser KC stated that the claim was without merit and that allowing it to proceed to trial would serve no purpose. The ruling emphasized the improbability of recovering the hard drive, even with Mr. Howells narrowing its potential location to a 100,000-tonne area within the landfill.
Reacting to the ruling, Mr. Howells expressed deep frustration and disappointment, claiming the decision denied him an opportunity for justice. He criticized the legal system, describing it as a "great British injustice," and lamented his long-standing efforts to engage with the council over the past 12 years.
"It's not about greed," he said, emphasizing his willingness to share the proceeds. "This ruling has taken everything from me and left me with nothing."
Bitcoin, a virtual or cryptocurrency, operates without physical coins or notes. While it can be used for transactions, its acceptance remains limited globally. In some countries, including China, trading and mining Bitcoin are outright illegal, while others, like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, impose restrictions.
The volatile nature of Bitcoin's value and its decentralized, immutable system highlight the complexities of cases like Mr. Howells’, where technical, legal, and environmental challenges collide. For now, his hope of recovering the £598 million fortune remains buried under 1.4 million tonnes of waste.
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