A UK man’s long-standing effort to reclaim a hard drive containing private keys to 8,000 Bitcoin—currently valued at approximately $660 million—has encountered yet another obstacle. The UK Court of Appeal has dismissed his request to search a landfill.

“Appeal request to the Royal Court of Appeal: refused,” James Howells, an early Bitcoin adopter, confirmed in a post on X dated March 14, 2025.

“The Great British Injustice System strikes again. The state always protects the state.”
(Translation: The legal system in the UK favors state interests over individual rights.)

He indicated that his next course of action would be to take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Court Dismisses Appeal Over “No Real Prospect of Success”

Judge Christopher Nugee of the UK Court of Appeal ruled against Howells, stating that his appeal lacked “no real prospect of success” and that there were “no other compelling reasons” to hear it. This follows an earlier ruling on January 9, 2025, by High Court Judge Andrew Keyser, who similarly dismissed Howells’ case for lacking a feasible chance of winning at trial.

Despite the setbacks, Howells remains committed to pursuing legal recourse. In a statement to Cointelegraph, he noted that his “last legal option” is to appeal to the ECHR, asserting that UK courts have infringed upon his right to property and the right to a fair trial under Article 1 of Protocol 1 and Article 6 of the ECHR.

While the ECHR cannot invalidate UK court decisions, a favorable ruling could prompt UK courts to reassess whether their legal interpretations align with European human rights standards.

The legal struggle stems from a series of refusals by Newport City Council, which denied Howells permission to search the Docksway landfill, where his hard drive was inadvertently discarded in 2013. Back then, Bitcoin was worth significantly less than it is today, and few envisioned its dramatic appreciation.

Time is of the essence; the Docksway landfill is expected to close during the 2025-2026 financial year, according to a report from BBC News. If the site closes before Howells obtains permission to search, his chances of retrieving the Bitcoin could be permanently extinguished.

Additional Updates

The UK FCA reportedly denied 90% of cryptocurrency firms seeking registration over the past year due to non-compliance with vital standards, particularly regarding fraud prevention and anti-money laundering protocols. Only **four out of 35 crypto firm applications were approved in the last year.