A man is suing Newport Council for nearly 500 million pounds to recover 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC), which he claims he lost due to a mix-up that led to his hard drive being disposed of at a recycling center in 2013.
James Howells has filed the lawsuit as a “last resort” after more than ten years of what he describes as being “largely ignored” by the council.
The multi-million pound lawsuit is aimed at leveraging the council into allowing an excavation, not seeking damages. Howells is seeking just under half a billion pounds, which translates to $646.4 million. This represents the highest valuation of his Bitcoin holdings from earlier in the year when the cryptocurrency hit an all-time high (ATH) price of $73,737.
The 39-year-old has assembled a team of experts willing to conduct a £10 million ($13 million) excavation at no cost to the council. He is also offering to share 10% of the recovered coins’ value, which he estimates could reach around $53.5 million based on current prices.
More than 10 years, this saga is still captivating many people. Do you think James Howells will one day success in his quest for the drive? Or do you think that this is just another hopeless case and that he should move on?honestly i did not even think his battle would last this long but it seems like experts are still very much willing to fight alongside him so i am guessing someday he will get at least a portion of what he is demanding but i do not think the council will give the exact amount of what he wants
Just like recent faketoshi lawsuit, i can't believe this case isn't over yet. IMO it's not only hopeless case, but also example of sunk cost fallacy in real life. If he spend his money and effort to re-buy or re-mine Bitcoin soon after he found out his HDD got discard, he could be a millionaire or even billionaire by now.
James Howells is now one of the most famous in the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as far as losing his coins can be concerned, with around 8000 Bitcoin lost in a hard drive which he accidentally thrown to the garbage back in 2013. Now, the value of those coins can run into multiple millions and the man is seeking all the possible ways so he can dig the dump and look for that treasured drive but the Newport's city council has continuously denied his request.The story of this man and the thousands of BTC buried under tons of garbage has been famous for a long time, but we haven't been able to get a happy ending for James Howells. The city council also finds it difficult to allow him and others to access the huge landfill because they are unsure whether the hard drive containing thousands of BTC is actually there and whether this permission could pose any risks to the city...
More than 10 years, this saga is still captivating many people. Do you think James Howells will one day success in his quest for the drive? Or do you think that this is just another hopeless case and that he should move on?
It should be said that JH didn't throw the HDD in the trash, his girlfriend/wife did it - but only because he valued BTC so much (at that time) that he kept that HDD in a drawer in an easily accessible place.
--snip--
Anyway, James might be content to know that his name and story has now been part of Bitcoin's colorful and amazing history.
I became aware of this case some years ago and was surprised that the guy is still battling to have it retrieved, and why not 8000 Bitcoin is a fortune that keeps growing, The legal battle is ugly and it could drag on for many years more, since the value keeps growing; they should instead negotiate to just divide the Bitcoin.
Its a win win situation for them, and if they agree to divide, they can come up with a better and faster solution to have it retrieved.
No cost with the potential of earning 10% of the total coins value looks like a great deal but has anyone successfully excavated without the environmental dangers? I think the council has a stronger argument that it is not his hard drive anymore after it has been dumped in the landfill.
It's obvious he still values (loves!) it until now. Can't really blame him as the value of those Bitcoins is almost half a billion pounds. The reality is, how sure is he that the hard drive is still working after all these years? If by some miracle, the council approves the excavation and he finds the hard drive but it's corrupted, how can he pay the excavation cost? He's even willing to give away 10% of the value. But all this is based on IF he gets the hard drive.
James Howells is now one of the most famous in the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as far as losing his coins can be concerned, with around 8000 Bitcoin lost in a hard drive which he accidentally thrown to the garbage back in 2013. Now, the value of those coins can run into multiple millions and the man is seeking all the possible ways so he can dig the dump and look for that treasured drive but the Newport's city council has continuously denied his request.The money he lost is too much, and I think he will never stop his efforts to recover the lost hard drive if it even exists in the dump anymore. I doubt the drive is still there because he definitely has no inner links with the council because if he had any, then till now his searching team would have gathered all the hard drives from the dump.
More than 10 years, this saga is still captivating many people. Do you think James Howells will one day success in his quest for the drive? Or do you think that this is just another hopeless case and that he should move on?
~snip~
Maybe someone rich has already collected the drives from the dump...
No one found the HDD because JH luckily did not lose his address and claims that all the coins are still there. If by any chance it was different, then all his efforts to find the HDD would be pointless.Oh really, that's a good thing, I did not know that Thanks for bringing it to my attention. If he really has the addresses, then there is nothing to worry about, as he can keep track of the funds. Otherwise, his efforts would be a total waste, as you said.
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I hope he finds that HD and gets what he deserves I just don't get why the council is not giving him the permission What are they hiding there? If they are hiding something there, then they will try to bribe him or maybe let him win the case, but with a lesser money.
Maybe there is a secret military base under the garbage? :)I did not read the whole story for like since few months but I read about it and the case is not new it has been discussed so many times on BTT and in my local community and for me really these environmental concerns are not real, if there is chance of dangerous gases that can only harm the people present there then there, are special equipment used to safe yourself from it.
Joking aside, you are obviously not well versed in this story - because the main reason why digging through garbage it is not allowed is environmental concerns. Estimates are that the digging itself would take up to 3 years, with at least one more year to inspect all that garbage - and when you have such a large pile of garbage (of all possible types), then it can lead to the release of very dangerous gases, not mentioning the stench and the possibility of it all catching fire.
I did not read the whole story for like since few months but I read about it and the case is not new it has been discussed so many times on BTT and in my local community and for me really these environmental concerns are not real, if there is chance of dangerous gases that can only harm the people present there then there, are special equipment used to safe yourself from it.
If there is a chance of fire there are fire brigadier and fire extinguishers etc. These are just lame excuses to hide something else, maybe they are having a base there, or maybe they are still searching for the drive for themselves.
I did not read the whole story for like since few months but I read about it and the case is not new it has been discussed so many times on BTT and in my local community and for me really these environmental concerns are not real, if there is chance of dangerous gases that can only harm the people present there then there, are special equipment used to safe yourself from it.
Living near landfills has been associated with a 12% increased risk of congenital malformations in children, highlighting the severe health risks these sites can pose to nearby communities.
Moreover, the odours from landfills, caused by various chemicals released as gases, can be detected at deficient concentrations. This chemical, a type of PFAS, is linked to several severe health issues in humans, including kidney and testicular cancers, hypertension, thyroid disease, and a reduced response to vaccines.
In addition, these facilities produce emissions equivalent to significant lengths of UK motorways. For instance, oxides of nitrogen from an EfW plant match those produced by a 7km stretch of motorway hourly. Similarly, particulate matter emissions are comparable to a 5km length of UK motorway.
If there is a chance of fire there are fire brigadier and fire extinguishers etc. These are just lame excuses to hide something else, maybe they are having a base there, or maybe they are still searching for the drive for themselves.
Yes, its possible that they are already looking for the HD themselves, and they don't want anyone to know unless their activity is obvious and visible.I don't really think that they have some kind of base there, as I can't just be 100% sure of things I really don't no but there is a 50% chance that there is one lol. But there is the possibility that the administration is already searching for it without saying anything in public, and we now know the victim has the address of his wallet so he can track them if they (the organization) move the funds if they find it.
If you know that there is a hidden treasures on those piles and the value keeps growing and you can track the value, the administrator will think of a way to excavate it, The issue is if the ends will justify the means, If Bitcoin reach 1 million and and Howells is still alive, he will move heaven and earth just to get it retrieved, this is going to be a continuing saga and its worth following.
~snip~
But there is the possibility that the administration is already searching for it without saying anything in public, and we now know the victim has the address of his wallet so he can track them if they (the organization) move the funds if they find it.
You have a slightly overactive imagination and do not see things from a realistic perspective. First of all, any search of this type would be very easily publicly detected because it involves the excavation of massive deposits of garbage that would be detected by air quality measuring stations - after all, it is a country that cares about the environment.Yeah yeah I got that part Thanks for mentioning it again but I get it really hehe. I know the funds can be detected and maybe nowadays I am overimagining, but I realize the public can see the excavation ongoing but they can't know for what?
Secondly, I will write again that even if someone finds the disk, they would first have to crack the password in order to get hold of the private keys - and even if they succeed in doing so, such a transaction would be detected and the coins would be frozen wherever they were sent.
Maybe things like this could also taught us some lessons on how we dispose things anyhowHowells didn't intend to lose his hard drive, he mistook it for trash in 2013 when cleaning his home, and BTC was also not as high as it is now in 2013, too bad for Howells. However, i think he should give up on this unending search, he is surely not doing his mental health any good, the council won't approve this excavation, for obvious reasons.
They are very real and dangerous, especially if excavation and removal of waste takes place on them. People who live nearby are exposed to various negative elements that arise during the process of waste decomposition, and every digging in the waste leads to a multiple increase in harmful particles that are very dangerous to health.Thanks for mentioning these health-related problems and I don't disagree with them because they are posted by good sources, but still, they are not related to the excavation, which means they are simply saying the risk of living near a dump and landfills. But I do agree that when the excavation happens, the gases that have been made in them can cause some harm, but if I am not wrong, it must be the responsibility of the organization to keep them under control but still risk is risk but I meant to point that risk can be controlled but yeah why would they do that.
It was a joke for the base, and even if they find the HDD, as far as I know, the wallet is protected by a password - after all, JH is some kind of computer scientist.Haha yeah, I know it was a joke for the base. I was also not taking that point seriously.
~snip~
I think its good to agree with you for now as I can't really know the real picture of what's really happening like why they are not giving him the permission or what they so afraid of let's wait for the results of this lawsuit it will be good. :)
Howells didn't intend to lose his hard drive, he mistook it for trash in 2013 when cleaning his home, and BTC was also not as high as it is now in 2013, too bad for Howells.
~snip~
I'll write again, he didn't throw the disc in the trash, but his girlfriend/wife who was cleaning the house. However, this does not justify him in any way, because if he thought that BTC was something valuable at the time, he would not have kept that disk in a drawer with other irrelevant things. To anyone who doesn't know anything about such things, it looked like something useless that should just be thrown in the trash.Yeah, i get it, truly it does not justify him, his wife knew nothing about what was in that hard drive and she thought it was just trash. Howells would have done better to protect his coins, but it was not so much worth protecting back then. I think he should simply give up this search, it must really be taking a toll on his mental health.
Yeah, i get it, truly it does not justify him, his wife knew nothing about what was in that hard drive and she thought it was just trash. Howells would have done better to protect his coins, but it was not so much worth protecting back then. I think he should simply give up this search, it must really be taking a toll on his mental health.
Question - would you ever give up so much wealth no matter how much it seems at times that you are trying to do the impossible? I think that most people would never give up - because this is in a way a personal search for a hidden treasure.I know that it is hard to give up on something like this, but if i see that it is becoming near impossible and taking its toll on my mental health, i might give up and enjoy the little treasures life has left in my possession.
Some new information is still in JH's favor, because I read that the former manager of the landfill took his side and gave him information about where the disk could be located, which could significantly reduce the scope of the search. Given that technology advances every day, it is possible that something will appear that could enable the safe excavation of that waste without endangering the environment and people.That does not still mean that they are going to approve the excavation, the chances are just too slim, though i wish him goodluck in all of this.
Some new information is still in JH's favor, because I read that the former manager of the landfill took his side and gave him information about where the disk could be located, which could significantly reduce the scope of the search. Given that technology advances every day, it is possible that something will appear that could enable the safe excavation of that waste without endangering the environment and people.
@Stompix, technology that would enable completely safe digging through tons of garbage without affecting people and the environment? People from the council persistently claim that they do not give permission precisely because no one can guarantee that it can be done in a safe way.
it's not about being impossible, it's about the costs and they don't want to do it for obvious reasons.Isn't the 'obvious reason' the danger it poses to those living in the community? The cost is one thing, but i am sure the authorities in control wouldn't want to face lawsuits if they approve this, because i am sure people will take legal action because of the danger they would be exposed to by such excavation, even if it didn't directly impact them.