$750m bitcoin recovery stopped

James Howells' long and arduous legal battle to recover a hard drive containing approximately $750 million worth of Bitcoin has officially come to an end

British High Court judge ruled against Howells, stating that his case had "no reasonable chance of success

and dismissed his claims against Newport City Council

which manages the landfill where the hard drive is believed to be buried

The saga began in 2013 when Howells, a former Bitcoin miner

accidentally discarded a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoins while cleaning out his office

At that time, the value of the Bitcoins was around $538 million

but it has since surged to over $750 million due to the rising price of cryptocurrency