I lost £635M in a rubbish dump & been battling for 12 years to get it back… now I've been forced to give up for good
The computer expert had been lobbying his local council to allow him to search for the coins, after his partner threw them out by accident.
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James Howells lost millions when his ex-partner accidentally threw out his Bitcoin
Credit: WNS
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The Bitcoin was contained on a hard drive
Credit: WNS
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His crypto stash was valued at £635 million
Credit: WNS
James Howells, 39, had acquired 8000 bitcoins by 2013 - just before their digital currency's value exploded.
However, when his former partner threw out a bin bag of computer parts, he lost everything.
Meanwhile, the value of the cryptocurrency skyrocketed and James' stash became worth a staggering £635 million.
In a desperate bid to reclaim his lost fortune, he launched a legal bid to search the council-owned dump.
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James even offered to buy it with the backing of hedge-fund millionaires who wanted a slice of his crypto fortune.
However, Newport City Council has since denied his request.
James tried to take legal action against the local authority, but a judge ruled in the council's favour and struck out his claim.
At the high court, Judge Keyser told James that he had "no realistic prospect of succeeding" if he allowed the case to continue to trial.
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He said: "I consider that the particulars of claim do not show any reasonable grounds for bringing this case.
'I also consider that the claim would have no realistic prospect of succeeding if it went to trial and that there is no other compelling reason why it should be disposed of at trial."
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The 39-year-old was told that looking for the lost cryptocurrency would be like 'looking for a needle in a haystack'.
Although James has said he won't give up, he claimed to the Crypto Banker that he had been 'denied access to even start the search'. What else can I do? What else do you want me to try?
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He added: "I would happily dig tomorrow but they are not going to change their minds.
'I believed that once the value of this hard drive reached $1billion they would come to their senses and say 'ok let's have a conversation and see if we can make this happen'?'
James is now planning on developing his own cryptocurrency named Ceiniog Coin.
The value of the currency would be linked to the value of his lost hard drive in a bid to reclaim some of his money.
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The news comes after heartwarming footage of the moment that a dad who overcame cancer told his son that he had won the Euromillions surfaced online.
Paul Harvey from Attleborough, Norfolk, won £1 million in the July 4 lottery.
In the video, Paul and his son can be seen laughing and jumping around the kitchen.
Paul recalled: 'I wanted to tell the kids in person so when my son got home I set up my phone to record it."
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And after an agonising wait for them to get home from school, he got his dream moment.
Paul said: "How many millionaires do you know?"
And his bewildered son replied "zero".
Then Paul broke the news by saying: 'Well, you do now.'
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The 51-year-old had been battling with bowel cancer but is now looking forward to happier times after winning the massive prize.
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