James Howells, an IT engineer, lost his legal battle to retrieve a hard drive with over 770 million USD worth of Bitcoin. The drive was accidentally dumped in a landfill in 2013, and Howells has been seeking to access the site ever since, offering a share if the drive was found.

The case gained attention in 2024 as Bitcoin’s price surged past 100,000 USD, attracting significant interest. However, Judge Keyser dismissed the case, stating it had no realistic prospect for success. Howells has been barred from landfill access by the Newport City Council due to environmental restrictions.