James Howells continues his fight for compensation amounting to £495 million ($647 million), after Newport City Council prevented him from obtaining permission to excavate a landfill.
James Howells and the Lost Bitcoins
James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, has filed a lawsuit against Newport City Council in the UK, seeking £495 million in damages. The reason is the loss of a hard drive he accidentally threw away, which contains 8,000 bitcoins.
Repeated Attempts to Retrieve the Drive
According to WalesOnline, Howells has made several attempts to recover the drive from the landfill, but his requests for excavation have been consistently denied by the council. He accidentally discarded the drive while cleaning his house in 2013. Today, the value of his bitcoins is nearly half a billion pounds.
A Decade-Long Fight to Recover the Drive
Since 2013, when the value of his 8,000 #BTC☀ was approximately £1 million (around $1.3 million), Howells has not stopped fighting to recover the drive. He has assembled a legal team to bring the lawsuit forward in December of this year.
Council Refuses Excavation Due to Environmental Concerns
Although Howells offered the council 10% of the value of the recovered bitcoins if the hard drive is found, Newport City Council has once again rejected his request. They argue that the excavation could cause environmental damage. The landfill poses ecological risks, as it contains asbestos, arsenic, and methane. The council asserts that the site is under strict environmental supervision.
Howells' Plan to Recover the Drive
In 2022, Howells presented a proposal costing $11 million to recover the drive, which may be buried under 110,000 tons of waste. The plan required no financial input from the city, but Newport City Council remains firm in its refusal, questioning both the legal and technical feasibility of Howells' plan.
How to Protect Your Bitcoins
If you want to keep your BTC safe, it's crucial to properly manage hardware wallets. Private keys should be stored offline, and backup phrases should be kept in multiple secure locations to ensure maximum security.
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