James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, Wales, is in the midst of a legal battle to recover a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin private keys, worth approximately $773 million, Cointelegraph reported.
The hard drive was mistakenly dumped at landfill in 2013, and Newport City Council refused access to it due to environmental consent. Howells assembled a legal team including King’s lawyers and used AI technology to support its case.
If the hard drive is successfully recovered, Howells plans to compensate stakeholders and may invest in blockchain projects. He believes Bitcoin is "digital gold" but is skeptical of other cryptocurrencies.
Despite the council’s rejection of his request, Howells plans to continue to be active in the crypto space and may launch his own blockchain technology. He accused the council of violating environmental regulations, saying its landfill was leaking hazardous materials.