#UK court halts treasure hunt plan#

A UK court has rejected IT engineer James Howells' application to search a landfill for a hard drive containing $735 million worth of Bitcoin. Howells accidentally discarded the hard drive containing the Bitcoin in 2013 and hoped to recover it by excavating the landfill. However, Newport City Council has consistently refused access to the landfill, and the judge ruled that the case had "no realistic prospect of success" at trial. Judge Keyser KC's ruling cited environmental risks, arguing that excavating the landfill could cause irreversible damage to the environment. Although Howells argued that excavating the landfill could bring economic benefits and was willing to bear all costs, the court ultimately sided with environmental protection and denied his application. This event has sparked debate about the balance between digital asset security and environmental protection.