For years, James Howells, a computer engineer living in Newport in the United Kingdom, has claimed that in 2013, he accidentally threw away a hard drive containing around 8,000 bitcoin. He had mined them at home shortly after the cryptocurrency came to light in 2009. At that time, the value of Bitcoin was relatively low, but today, the coins are worth more than $500 million.
Unfortunately for Howells, finding the dumped hard drive has proven nearly impossible. He’s attempted to obtain a permit from local authorities to search the landfill where he believes the hard drive is located, but all his attempts have been unsuccessful. Now, according to local outlet WalesOnline, Howells has decided to sue Newport City Council as a “last resort” to retrieve his lost bitcoin. However, he’s uncertain about pursuing a legal battle.
A Lawsuit for Nearly $650 Million
Lawyers representing Howells are seeking payment of £495,314,800 (about $645 million) in damages. This amount is based on Bitcoin’s maximum valuation this year. Legal action has already commenced, and the case is expected to go to court in December. This could potentially bring closure to a long-standing story with no apparent breakthroughs.
Newport City Council has rejected Howells’ pleas. He told WalesOnline that despite that, he remains committed to giving the council 10% of the recovered bitcoin. He said, “That would be £41m [about $53 million] based on today’s rate but in the future it could be hundreds of millions. If they had spoken to me in 2013 this place would look like Las Vegas now. Newport would look like Dubai. That’s the kind of opportunity they’ve missed.”
According to the city council, one reason to reject Howells’ requests is that removing trash from the landfill could result in environmental damage. Locating a hard drive among thousands of tons of garbage would be, as they say, like looking for a needle in a haystack. Over the years, some have estimated the time it would take to find the storage unit. In the past, Howells said it would take at least 18 months, while less optimistic reports suggest it could take even longer.
While the lawsuit is ongoing, Howells told WalesOnline that the main objective is to pressure the city council to authorize tasks at the landfill. He claims to have a plan to secure the £10 million ($13 million) needed to fund the excavations, which would mean no costs for the city. We’ll have to wait to see how this story unfolds. However, one thing is certain: Bitcoin’s price has fluctuated significantly during all this time.
Image | Traxer | Erling Løken Andersen
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