Briton plans to buy a landfill to find $31 billion worth of bitcoin
Kyiv • UNN
James Howells is considering buying a landfill in Newport, where his hard drive with 8,000 bitcoins is located. After losing a lawsuit, this is the only way to get access to the cryptocurrency worth UAH 31 billion.
James Howells, a British citizen, has been trying to find a hard disk containing bitcoins worth about UAH 31 billion for ten years. He accidentally threw it into a landfill in Newport back in 2013.
This was reported by The Guardian, UNN.
After numerous refusals by the city council to allow the search, he is considering buying the entire dump. Last month, Howells lost a court case in the High Court trying to force Newport City Council to allow him to excavate.
However, now the authorities themselves are planning to close and mothball the landfill and use part of the territory for a solar power plant. “In court, the council said they couldn't close the landfill for my search because it would hurt the people of Newport. Now it turns out they were planning to close it anyway, says Howells, 39.
He added that he had already discussed the possibility of buying out the landfill with potential investors:
I expected the landfill to be closed in the coming years, as it is already 80-90% full, but I didn't think it would happen so quickly. If the Newport City Council was ready, I would consider buying the landfill in its current state. I have already discussed this option with investment partners, and this issue remains open
Howells lost access to his bitcoins in 2013 when he accidentally put his hard drive in a black bag while cleaning his office. His then-partner, he said, mistook the bag for garbage and took it to the dump.
The man quickly realized his mistake, but since then he has not been allowed to search for the disk. The Newport City Council claims that the disk became its property after it was dumped.
In January, a judge ruled in favor of the authorities, recognizing that Howells had no right to search for him. The Newport City Council declined to comment on the situation.
Recall
The court refused to allow a Welsh resident to search for a hard disk with 8,000 bitcoins in a landfill in Newport. The disk was accidentally thrown away in 2013 and is now among 100 thousand tons of garbage.
Bitcoin rose by 1.3% after falling, reaching $97,873amid expectations of new US inflation data.
