James Howells, an engineer from Newport, has filed a lawsuit against the local council seeking compensation for a lost hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins.

Background of the Incident

The incident occurred in 2013, when Howells accidentally discarded the hard drive during a household cleanup. He later realized the drive contained 8,000 bitcoins, which were worth around 1 million pounds at the time. Today, their value is nearly half a billion pounds.

Howells' Actions

Since then, Howells has been unsuccessfully trying to retrieve the hard drive, seeking permission from the city council to search the landfill. He even assembled a team of legal experts and filed a court claim, which is expected to be heard in December. In 2022, Howells proposed an $11 million plan involving technology to locate the drive among 110,000 tons of garbage.

Council’s Response

Newport City Council has consistently denied his requests citing environmental risks. The landfill has violations of its environmental permit, including high levels of asbestos, arsenic, and methane. The council argues that excavation could harm the environment and insists on following strict protocols.

The situation underscores the importance of securely storing cryptocurrency, including protecting hardware wallets and backing up keys.