Man who lost $632,000,000 Bitcoin wallet sues council over fortune 'lost in tip'
Losing something is one of the biggest bugbears of adulting.
Where have you put your glasses, car keys, and remote? However, imagine if you misplaced your Bitcoin fortune that was worth a mere $632 million.
This is the unfortunate case of James Howells from Newport in the United Kingdom, who is trying to sue his local council over his missing Bitcoin wallet.
Howells wants to gain access to the Docksway landfill site, claiming his ex accidentally dumped a hard drive containing the modern equivalent of $632 million worth of Bitcoin there in 2013.
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As Howells was an early 'miner' of Bitcoin, his cryptocurrency was only worth a tiny amount of what it would be today.
After Donald Trump's win in the 2024 Presidential Election, crypto has soared across the board, with Bitcoin breaking records.
As reported by the BBC, Howells is accused of trying to 'bribe' Newport Council by offering to donate 10% of his missing crypto to the local community if he's given access to a local rubbish tip.
He's trying to sue the local authority to gain access to the site or is seeking £495 million (the equivalent of $630 million) in compensation.
The council's side has said Howells is trying to get it to 'play fast and loose', while Dean Armstrong KC, for Howells, says the bribery situation was 'an unfortunate and pointless phrase' but maintains that his client has a right to retrieve his Bitcoin from the landfill.
Howells has previously said he doesn't want to bankrupt Newport Council, however, he has plans to take it 'all the way' to get his millions back.
Newport Council has applied for a High Court hearing and for the judge to dismiss Howells' claim before it goes to trial.
Judge Keyser KC has said he's reserving his decision for now.
Howells says the phone-sized hard drive contains 8,000 units of Bitcoin, and in a bizarre twist, he's been using artificial intelligence to try and locate it.
He wants to take 100,000 tons of landfill to a facility, where AI will apparently scan it and look for anything that could be the missing hard drive.
In the ongoing battle, Newport Council says it has told Howells multiple times that excavation isn't possible under its environmental permit, with worries about the negative environmental impact on the nearby area.
Added to this, the council has argued that anything deposited at a landfill site then belongs to the local authority, while Armstrong says the courts need to be careful not to cause 'a grave injustice' to Howells. He concludes: "We seek, plainly and candidly, a declaration of rights over the ownership of the Bitcoin."
Someone needs to find the hard drive in the first place, but according to Howells' side, it won't be a needle in a haystack situation.
As Bitcoin continues to climb, it must be frustrating for Howells to see his missing fortune be worth more by the day.