We’ve been following the fascinating story of James Howells’ for a while now. He’s the guy who accidentally threw away a hard drive in 2013—one that contained the private keys to 7,500 Bitcoin. Today, that Bitcoin is worth over $600 million, but he still hasn’t been able to dig through the landfill where he believes it’s buried.
His latest attempt to get permission to search was rejected by the UK Court of Appeals, which said his case had no “real prospect of success.” This follows an earlier decision from the High Court in January, which also shut down his request.
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 pic.twitter.com/KFYRSbsEPo
— James Howells (@howelzy) March 14, 2025
Howells isn’t giving up just yet. He’s now planning to take his fight to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), arguing that UK courts violated his rights to property and a fair trial. While the ECHR can’t directly overturn UK court rulings, a decision in his favor could push UK courts to reconsider their stance.
For years, Newport City Council has refused to let him dig through the Docksway landfill, likely because of environmental and logistical concerns. But now, there’s another problem—the landfill is expected to close sometime in the 2025-2026 financial year with plans to build a solar power farm on the land. If Howells doesn’t get permission soon, he may never get a chance to search for his lost Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, Howells is discussing the idea of purchasing the landfill site outright with potential investors. According to a report from the BBC, he said, “I have discussed this option recently with investment partners and it is very much on the table.” If he manages to buy the land, he hopes to finally get the chance to dig for the lost hard drive.
His situation is a good reminder of why it’s so important to properly store private keys when you hold Bitcoin, a common beginner mistake in Bitcoin. Without those keys, you have no access to your Bitcoin—there’s no way to recover it, once again stressing the importance of this good practice that any Bitcoiner should adhere to.
Keep following us at HowToBuyBitcoin.org to see how the story enfolds and whether this massive stack of Bitcoin will return to its ‘rightful’ owner.