A UK man’s long-standing try and get better a tough drive containing personal keys to eight,000 Bitcoin—now price roughly $660 million—has suffered one other setback. The UK Courtroom of Enchantment rejected his request to go looking a landfill.
“Appeal request to the Royal Courtroom of Enchantment: refused,” James Howells, an early Bitcoin adopter, confirmed the choice in a 14 March 2025 post on X.
“The Nice British Injustice System strikes once more,” he wrote. “The state at all times protects the state.”
He added that his subsequent authorized transfer could be to take the case to the European Courtroom of Human Rights (ECHR).
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Courtroom Dismisses Enchantment Over “No Actual Prospect of Success”
Decide Christopher Nugee of the UK Courtroom of Enchantment dominated towards Howells. He mentioned that his case had “no actual prospect of success” and that there was “no different compelling purpose” to listen to the attraction.
This follows an earlier ruling on 9 January 2025 by Excessive Courtroom Decide Andrew Keyser. Equally, he dismissed Howells’ case arguing that it had no life like likelihood of succeeding in a full trial.
Howells, nonetheless, stays decided to pursue authorized motion. In a press release to Cointelegraph, he mentioned his “final authorized possibility” is to attraction to the ECHR. He plans to argue that UK courts have violated his proper to property and proper to a good trial underneath Article 1 of Protocol 1 and Article 6 of the ECHR.
Whereas the ECHR can not overturn UK courtroom selections, a good ruling might push UK courts to rethink whether or not their interpretation of the legislation aligns with European human rights requirements.
Enchantment request to the Royal Courtroom of Enchantment: refused
The Nice British Injustice System strikes once more…
The state at all times protects the state.
Subsequent cease: ECHR pic.twitter.com/KFYRSbsEPo
— James Howells (@howelzy) March 14, 2025
The authorized battle stems from repeated refusals by Newport Metropolis Council. It has denied Howells permission to excavate the Docksway landfill, the place his exhausting drive was by accident discarded in 2013.
On the time, Bitcoin was a fraction of its present worth, and few anticipated its meteoric rise.
Regardless of his persistence, time is operating out. The Docksway landfill is ready to close down someday throughout the UK’s 2025-2026 monetary yr, in keeping with a BBC Information report.
If the location is completely closed earlier than Howells features permission to seek for his exhausting drive, his possibilities of recovering the Bitcoin could possibly be misplaced ceaselessly.
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UK FCA Rejects 90% of Crypto Companies Searching for Registration
Reportedly, nearly 90% of cryptocurrency firms making use of for registration within the UK over the previous yr have been turned down by the FCA.
The excessive rejection fee stems from the companies’ failure to satisfy vital requirements, significantly in areas associated to fraud prevention and anti-money laundering protocols. The FCA revealed that solely 4 of the 35 crypto agency purposes submitted within the final 12 months had been accepted.
The UK has elevated regulatory scrutiny on the cryptocurrency sector. This transfer was adopted by a number of high-profile bankruptcies final yr. Final yr, the FCA launched new laws requiring all crypto companies to register with the monetary watchdog.
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Key Takeaways
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The UK Courtroom of Enchantment rejected James Howells’ bid to get better a tough drive holding 8,000 Bitcoin from a landfill. -
Howells plans to take his case to the European Courtroom of Human Rights, arguing that UK courts violated his property rights. -
Time is operating out, because the landfill the place the exhausting drive is buried is ready to shut throughout the UK’s 2025-2026 monetary yr.
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