No. James Howells’s proposed purchase of the landfill was reported as an idea, not a completed acquisition. A later report published in August 2026 says he had stopped pursuing a purchase and other efforts to recover the drive in August 2025. The court had already dismissed his claim for access to the site in January 2025.
What happened to the Bitcoin hard drive?
James Howells says a hard drive containing a digital record of his Bitcoin private key was mistakenly discarded at Docksway Landfill in Newport, Wales, in August 2013. That is his account, recorded in the court judgment; the court did not establish that the drive remains at the landfill or that it can be recovered.
The distinction matters: the Bitcoin is not physically stored on the drive. The High Court explained that Bitcoin exists independently on the blockchain and that the drive held, at most, a digital record of the private key needed to access it. The judgment put it plainly: “Bitcoin are not tangible property and cannot be on the Hard Drive or in the Landfill.” (High Court judgment)
Did James Howells buy the landfill?
No purchase is established in the available reporting. On 10 February 2025, The Guardian reported that Howells was potentially interested in buying the site “as is” and had discussed the idea with investment partners. It was a proposal under consideration, not an agreed sale or completed purchase. (The Guardian, 10 February 2025)
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The Guardian also reported at the time that Newport City Council planned to close and cap the landfill and had planning permission for a solar farm on part of the land. Those were reported plans as of February 2025, not confirmation of the site’s current status.
A later report published on 12 August 2026 says Howells stopped pursuing a landfill purchase, excavation, remediation and further dialogue with the council in August 2025. That update is secondary reporting, rather than a current statement from the council. (BusinessLive, 12 August 2026)
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What did the court decide?
Howells asked the High Court for declarations of ownership, the return of the drive or permission for experts to excavate, and, alternatively, compensation. On 9 January 2025, the court dismissed his claim, finding that the council’s argument under section 14(6)(c) of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 answered it. (High Court judgment)
The ruling concerned Howells’s claims about the physical drive and access to it. It did not find that the council owned his Bitcoin: the council did not claim to own the coins, and the judge distinguished the Bitcoin on the blockchain from the drive’s private-key record. The judgment also treated certain pleaded facts as assumed for the application; it did not make findings on the recovery specialists’ assessment or establish that the drive was present in the landfill.
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How much Bitcoin was at stake?
The amount’s value changes with the Bitcoin market price. In the 2025 case, the judgment recorded Howells’s claim that the coins were worth more than £600 million at that time. That was a dated claim in the court record, not a current valuation. (High Court judgment)
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about the landfill?
The High Court judgment summarized Newport City Council evidence describing around 350,000 tonnes of waste at the site, with a further 50,000 tonnes added annually. These are figures recorded in the 2025 court proceedings, not a current inventory. They help explain why the proposed recovery effort involved a working landfill site rather than a simple search for a misplaced object. (High Court judgment)
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What to take away
- The landfill purchase was discussed as a possibility in February 2025; the reporting does not establish that it happened.
- The High Court dismissed Howells’s claim for ownership or access relating to the drive in January 2025.
- The court did not rule that Bitcoin was buried in the landfill: the drive would have held a private-key record, while the Bitcoin exists on the blockchain.
- A secondary report published in August 2026 says Howells ended his physical recovery efforts in August 2025.
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