#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, citing environmental risks. Howells accidentally discarded the hard drive in 2013, which contained Bitcoin he mined in 2009 for just a few cents. Newport City Council has consistently refused access to the landfill for excavation, and the judge ruled that the case had "no realistic prospect of success" at trial. The court's decision was primarily based on environmental risks, arguing that excavating the landfill would cause irreversible damage to the environment and that the cost of excavation would be too high for a very low chance of success. Despite Howells offering to cover all costs and implement environmentally friendly measures, the court deemed the risks too great and denied his application. This incident has sparked discussions about the security of digital assets and environmental protection, reminding people to exercise extreme caution when handling digital assets.