As a seasoned analyst with years of experience under my belt, I find myself deeply moved by the plight of James Howells, the IT engineer from Newport, who is locked in a bitter battle with his local council over a lost hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin. The sheer magnitude of this financial loss, which has ballooned from around $1.3 million in 2013 to almost half a billion pounds today, is truly staggering.
James Howells, who hails from Newport and works as an IT professional, has filed a lawsuit against the Newport City Council in the UK for a whopping 495 million GBP (approximately $647 million USD) in compensation, following his accidental disposal of a hard drive that contained approximately 8,000 Bitcoins.
As reported by WalesOnline, Howells has persistently tried to get back the drive from the community dump, but the council has continually blocked him, refusing his multiple appeals to dig up the area.
He mistakenly threw out the hard drive containing Bitcoin (BTC) in 2013 during a household clearout, now worth almost half a billion pounds.
A war of attrition
For more than ten years, Howells has been trying to retrieve his misplaced hard drive. It was accidentally put into a garbage bag and eventually sent to a recycling plant.
In 2013, the value of his 8,000 BTC was around 1 million pounds (around $1.3 million).
Legal expert team assembled by Howells will submit the court case in December for hearing.
Council rejection to excavate
Regardless of Howells’ proposal to share 10% of the retrieved Bitcoin value with the council should they find his lost hard drive, Newport City Council has persistently turned down his excavation request, expressing worries about potential environmental issues.
The specific landfill site is under scrutiny due to violations against its environmental license, with increased amounts of asbestos, arsenic, and methane being among the issues highlighted.
The council contends that excavating the site might negatively impact the nearby environment, and they assert that their operations adhere to stringent monitoring procedures.
Robots, garbage, BTC…oh my
2022 saw reports that Howells proposed a project worth around $11 million, aiming to find and retrieve a missing hard drive, which was believed to be buried beneath approximately 110,000 tonnes of waste.
The current strategy is in motion and it’s important to note that it won’t incur any expenses for the city council. However, Newport City Council maintains their stance of denial, expressing doubts about the legitimacy and practicality of Howells’ assertions.
To ensure Bitcoin (BTC) remains safe, it’s crucial to store your hardware wallet securely, protect your private keys by keeping them offline, and save your recovery phrases in various secure places as an additional safety measure.
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2024-10-13 19:15