James Howells, who went down in the history books for accidentally destroying Bitcoin BTC/USD, which is currently worth more than $500 million, has taken a major step towards recovering his Bitcoin.
What Happened: In a last ditch effort, a Wales-based software engineer sued Newport City Council for approximately GBP 495.31 million, for repeatedly refusing requests to excavate a landfill site to house waste. or filed a lawsuit seeking approximately $647 million in damages. WalesOnline reports that the hard drive contains approximately 8,000 units of Bitcoin.
Howells said the lawsuit was a strategy to persuade the city council to allow the landfill to be excavated and did not reflect the actual situation.
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Mr Howells assembled a team of experts to carry out the excavation at no cost to the city council. He also proposed giving the council 10% of the value of the recovered coins.
The case is scheduled for trial in December. However, Newport Council dismissed the lawsuit as “weak” and expressed concerns about the potential impact of the proposed drilling on the environment.
Why it matters: This bizarre incident dates back to 2013, when Howells unintentionally threw a hard drive containing 8,000 BTC into the trash while cleaning his office.
The compensation Mr. Howells sought was the highest valuation of his hidden assets earlier this year, when major cryptocurrencies soared to all-time highs.
As of this writing, 8,000 BTC is worth $514.37 million, with a market price of $64,296.34 per unit.
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