The decentralized nature of bitcoin, making it hard for authorities to control, is often cited as one of cryptocurrencies’ benefits – but there are exceptions, although usually less bizarre than this one.
A court ruled against a man Thursday who has been trying to force local government to allow him access to landfill to search for digital assets worth around $700 million. The fortune is on a hard drive that was tossed in the trash by his ex-partner a decade ago.
James Howells had 8,000 bitcoins stored and says a bag containing the hard drive was discarded by his ex by mistake, but despite the long time since the incident he says that he still owns the property and should be granted permission to retrieve it.
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Howells has even pledged to gift 10% of the fortune to the local area and to bear all the costs of the excavation using a professional team. He lives in Newport, UK, and says the donation would turn the area into the “Las Vegas” of South Wales.
The court action sought access to the landfill or around $615 million in compensation.
"I am either entitled to recover the property at full cost to myself or if the landowner refuses they it they pay me the value of my property,” Howells told Talker News.
Bitcoin has surged in value in recent months - nearing the $100,000 mark as the largest digital asset regains momentum with Donald Trump heading to the White House - and Howell’s 8,000 coins could be worth $1 billion in 2025 if the upward trajectory continues. With the stakes so high, he intends to take his case to the UK’s Supreme Court.
But the local council says the claim has no merit and access will not be granted: "The council has told Mr. Howells multiple times that excavation is not possible under our environmental permit, and that work of that nature would have a huge negative environmental impact on the surrounding area,” Newport City Council said.
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