- James Howells, who lost a hard drive containing $678 million worth of Bitcoin in a landfill, has been denied appeal by the UK Court of Appeal.
- Howells plans to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming the UK ruling sets a “dangerous precedent for property rights.”
- Experts estimate his chance of recovering the bitcoin is approximately 1 in 902 million, with Newport City Council planning to convert the landfill into a solar farm by 2026.
A Welsh man who lost 8,000 bitcoin worth approximately $678 million in a landfill has had his appeal rejected by the UK Court of Appeal. James Howells, who has been fighting to excavate a Newport landfill site for over a decade, now intends to escalate his case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Court of Appeal Judge Lord Justice Nugee dismissed Howells’ application on Thursday, stating it had no “real prospect of success” and that “There is no other compelling reason why the appeal must be heard,” according to documents shared with Protos.
Despite this setback, Howells remains determined to pursue his case, announcing on Twitter: “Appeal request to the Royal Court of Appeal: refused. The Great British Injustice System strikes again… The state always protects the state. Next stop: ECHR.”
Newport City Council, which has repeatedly denied Howells permission to search the landfill, plans to close the site by 2026 and convert it into a solar farm, further complicating recovery efforts. Howells believes the UK courts have violated his property rights by preventing him from retrieving his asset.
“Despite the courts acknowledging that Newport City Council does not own my Bitcoin, they have ruled that because my hard drive was mistakenly discarded in 2013 by a known third party, the Council now has the absolute right to prevent me from recovering it, ignoring fundamental property rights and disregarding numerous historical precedents in the process,” Howells stated.
He further warned that the ruling could establish a dangerous legal precedent: “If this ruling stands, it means that any UK resident who mistakenly disposes of valuable property, or has it disposed of by someone else, can be permanently denied access to it, with no legal remedy.”
Howells lost his initial UK High Court case in January 2024 and subsequently applied for appeal, claiming he would employ an “AI agent” specialized in UK law to assist his case. This approach draws parallels to Craig Wright, another British cryptocurrency figure who was fined £225,000 ($290,000) for improperly using AI in his court appeals, with the court noting he “risked significantly misleading the court.”
Recovery experts have cast serious doubt on Howells’ chances of success. UK waste management firm Business Waste estimates his probability of finding the hard drive at just 0.00000011%, or approximately 1 in 902 million. Their spokesperson told The Block that the bitcoin drive “has been exposed to the elements, leachate, heat and also been subject to compacting,” giving it a “0% chance of recovery.”
This case continues to highlight the unique challenges of cryptocurrency ownership, where billions in value can be irretrievably lost without proper backup measures, raising questions about property rights in digital asset recovery.
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