Hold onto your hats, crypto fans, because we've got a wild ride of a story for you! Picture this: a man on a mission, James Howells, is taking Newport Council to court, with a staggering £500 million lawsuit. But he's not after cash, oh no. This lawsuit is all about getting permission to dig up a landfill in search of lost Bitcoin treasure!
Back in 2013, in a mix-up worthy of a sitcom, Howells accidentally threw away a hard drive containing a jaw-dropping 8,000 Bitcoin. Fast forward a decade, and he's still on the hunt for his digital gold, which would be worth an eye-watering $646.4 million today. Talk about a pricey oopsie!
Tired of being ignored by the council, Howells is now making a final stand. His lawsuit isn't about pocketing cash; it's about turning the council's attention towards allowing an excavation to find his long-lost crypto fortune. Imagine the drama of a treasure hunt, but with bulldozers and landfill experts!
With a crack team of experts ready to dig deep, Howells is even offering a slice of the Bitcoin pie to the council—10% of the recovered treasure, potentially $53.5 million. If that doesn't sweeten the deal, what will?
Howells, an early Bitcoin adopter, mined those coins when they were worth peanuts. Now, their value has skyrocketed. With some experts predicting even higher future prices, those coins could be worth billions. It's a real-life crypto fairytale!
Determined to find his lost treasure, Howells has left his IT job and is now laser-focused on this mission. Experts say there's an 80% chance of recovering the data if they can dig in the right spot. But Newport Council isn't budging, claiming they own the hard drive since it was tossed away.
The council's lawyers aren't impressed, calling Howells' claims weak and citing environmental concerns as a reason to block the dig. But Howells isn't backing down. He's ready to fight this battle in court this December, vowing to keep searching for his Bitcoin until a judge says otherwise.
Stay tuned, folks, as this crypto drama unfolds. Who knows, we might just witness the epic recovery of a digital fortune buried beneath layers of landfill!
