A British man, James Howells, who is an early Bitcoin investor, experienced a catastrophic accident 10 years ago when his wife mistakenly threw away a hard drive containing 7,500 Bitcoins. Since then, the whereabouts of the hard drive have been unknown. With the surge in Bitcoin value, he 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, went through a disastrous incident 10 years ago. Due to a misunderstanding, his wife threw a black garbage bag into the trash can, which happened to contain the hard drive he had temporarily stored. This hard drive 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 owned 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 continuously skyrocket. With Bitcoin reaching $70,000, the value of his lost 7,500 Bitcoins has exceeded $520 million. He stated:
“Hedge fund assists in countering 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 rejected every time. However, he has now received funding from a hedge fund investor team to fight against the city council. If the Bitcoin is successfully recovered, the team will receive a partial reward.
The team has formed a group consisting of search experts and data recovery engineers in the hope of finding the hard drive and restoring its operation. The team has also funded James Howells’ legal team, which includes a senior lawyer based in London to represent 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 council. However, he did not receive a response. His team is now seeking an injunction to prohibit anyone from excavating the landfill and seeking compensation for the full value of the Bitcoin.
The city council claims that excavation will contaminate the environment.
The Newport City Council previously stated that since 2013, they have received multiple notices suggesting the possibility of recovering the IT hardware devices that supposedly stored the Bitcoin. However, these devices may or may not be in the landfill.
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