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James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, is suing Newport City Council in the United Kingdom for £495 million (around $647 million) in damages after accidentally throwing away a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoins.
According to WalesOnline, Howells made numerous attempts to retrieve the drive from a local landfill, but was met with resistance from the council, which repeatedly rejected his requests to excavate the site.
In 2013, while cleaning his house, he mistakenly threw away a hard drive containing Bitcoin (BTC), now worth almost half a billion pounds.
A War of Attrition
Howells has been trying to get the lost hard drive back for over a decade after mistakenly placing it in a bin that eventually ended up at a recycling center.
In 2013, his 8,000 BTC were worth around £1 million (around $1.3 million).
Howells has assembled a team of legal experts to take the case to court, which is scheduled to be heard in December.
Council Refuses to Excavate
Despite Howells' offer to give the council 10% of the value of the recovered BTC if the hard drive is found, Newport City Council has consistently opposed the excavation request, citing environmental concerns.
The site has been cited for breaches of environmental permits, including elevated levels of asbestos, arsenic and methane.
The council claims that excavating the site could harm the surrounding area, and maintains that its work is carried out under strict monitoring protocols.
Robots, rubbish, BTC… oh my!
In 2022, Howells reportedly proposed an $11 million idea to find and recover a lost hard drive, potentially surrounded by 110,000 tons of rubbish.
The plan is active and will not cost the council any money. However, Newport City Council remains firm in its decision to refuse, questioning the legality and feasibility of Howells' claims.
To keep your BTC safe, it is important to store hardware wallets securely, keep private keys safe offline, and back up recovery phrases in multiple safe locations for added security.
According to WalesOnline, Howells made numerous attempts to retrieve the drive from a local landfill, but was met with resistance from the council, which repeatedly rejected his requests to excavate the site.
In 2013, while cleaning his house, he mistakenly threw away a hard drive containing Bitcoin (BTC), now worth almost half a billion pounds.
A War of Attrition
Howells has been trying to get the lost hard drive back for over a decade after mistakenly placing it in a bin that eventually ended up at a recycling center.
In 2013, his 8,000 BTC were worth around £1 million (around $1.3 million).
Howells has assembled a team of legal experts to take the case to court, which is scheduled to be heard in December.
Council Refuses to Excavate
Despite Howells' offer to give the council 10% of the value of the recovered BTC if the hard drive is found, Newport City Council has consistently opposed the excavation request, citing environmental concerns.
The site has been cited for breaches of environmental permits, including elevated levels of asbestos, arsenic and methane.
The council claims that excavating the site could harm the surrounding area, and maintains that its work is carried out under strict monitoring protocols.
Robots, rubbish, BTC… oh my!
In 2022, Howells reportedly proposed an $11 million idea to find and recover a lost hard drive, potentially surrounded by 110,000 tons of rubbish.
The plan is active and will not cost the council any money. However, Newport City Council remains firm in its decision to refuse, questioning the legality and feasibility of Howells' claims.
To keep your BTC safe, it is important to store hardware wallets securely, keep private keys safe offline, and back up recovery phrases in multiple safe locations for added security.
