James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, who is on his long-running legal battle demanding permission to dig through trash to retrieve his 8,000 Bitcoin (valued at over $750 million), which he lost when he accidentally threw away his hard drive, has lost his legal battle against the Newport City Council.

But he has not lost hope, as he is determined to find an alternative method to retrieve his lost fortune.

Court rejects proposal due to environmental concerns

Despite offering 10% of the recovered fortune to the council and the community, his $10 million proposal to excavate the landfill was constantly rejected by the local council.

In his latest legal claim, the British man sought either access to the landfill or a $608 million compensation, which is almost equivalent to a significant portion of the Bitcoin's value at its peak.

The local council has cited environmental concerns as the primary reason for rejecting the proposal, stating that the excavation would breach its permits and harm the local ecosystem.

To which Howells has rebutted that the council by accusing it of violating environmental regulations, claiming to have 100 independently verified evidence to support his allegations.

In the latest hearing Judge Keyser KC dismissed Howells' case, stating that what Howell's search mission was literally a mission impossible and the chances of retrieving the hard drive would be close to 0%.

Judge Keyser also explained that after weighing through the pros and cons, Howells has presented with no valid justification for the destruction of the land other than just to fulfill his own selfish goals.

Upon receiving the disappointing result of the hearing, Howells cried out that "the great British injustice system striking again."

Howells expressed his disappointment with the ruling, telling British outlet that he felt "very upset" and likened the decision to a "kick in the teeth." Howells added

Looking back at his persistent efforts to engage with the Newport City Council over the past 12 years, Howells said

"I've tried every possible way to communicate with the council. It's not about greed-I'm willing to share the proceeds-but no one in a position of power is willing to have a proper conversation with me."

However, Howells' ownership of the Bitcoin hard drive was not questioned during the legal hearing, which was an important acknowledgement, Howells said, adding:

"It will pave the way for me to take appropriate steps to monetize my ownership of the 8,000 Bitcoin digital assets in the future via potential tokenisation avenues."

Landfill site turned gold mine

Howells mined the Bitcoin (BTC) in 2009, when it cost less than a penny to do so, and stored his digital wallet on a hard drive.

Then in 2014, Howells then-partner accidentally discarded the hard drive during an office cleanup.

By 2024, the value of his lost Bitcoin has soared over 704,000 times, driven by crypto's huge rise, making the loss increasingly painful.

Despite the court's decision, Howells tells Wales Online that he hasn't given up entirely. He revealed that he is currently exploring tokenisation the inaccessible Bitcoin into new crypto as a solution round his dilemma.

"The landfill acts like a super-duper storage vault," he said, noting how this might be his last resort to salvage any value. While he has given up on the excavation route, he remains determined to find an alternative way to recover his fortune.