A British man, James Howells, lost a hard drive containing 7,500 bitcoins in a misunderstanding 10 years ago when his wife mistakenly threw it into the trash bin. With the recent surge in bitcoin prices, he has recently filed a lawsuit in the High Court, hoping to obtain permission to excavate the landfill.
According to the Daily Mail, James Howells, a 38-year-old early bitcoin investor, experienced a catastrophic accident 10 years ago. Due to a misunderstanding, his wife threw a black garbage bag into the trash bin, which contained the hard drive that was the only way to access his 7,500 bitcoins.
Since then, James Howells has been continuously trying to retrieve the hard drive from the landfill managed by the Newport City Council. Now, he has filed a lawsuit in the High Court to obtain permission to excavate the landfill.
Cruelly, James Howells has watched the price of bitcoin skyrocket. With bitcoin reaching $70,000, the value of his lost 7,500 bitcoins has exceeded $520 million. He stated:
“Hedge fund assists in challenging the city council”
James Howells stated that he has repeatedly requested government officials to allow him to retrieve the hard drive from the landfill, but has been denied each time. However, he has now received funding from a hedge fund investor team to challenge the city council. If the bitcoins are successfully recovered, the team will receive partial rewards.
The team has assembled a group of search experts and data recovery engineers in the hope of finding the hard drive and restoring its functionality. The team has also funded James Howells’ legal team, which includes a senior lawyer based in London representing him in the High Court.
Previously, James Howells proposed that if the bitcoin hard drive is successfully found, he is willing to share the profits with the financially struggling Labour Party City Council, but has not received a response. His team is seeking an injunction to prohibit anyone from excavating the landfill and is seeking compensation for the full value of the bitcoins.
The city council claims that excavation will contaminate the environment.
The Newport City Council previously stated that since 2013, they have received multiple notifications indicating the possibility of recovering the so-called IT hardware devices that store bitcoins, but it is uncertain whether these devices are actually in the landfill or not.
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