james howellswas written into the history books for being accidentally disposed of. Bitcoin The virtual currency (CRYPTO: BTC), currently worth over $500 million, has taken a big step in reclaiming them.
what happened: In a last ditch effort, a Wales-based software engineer has sued Newport City Council for approximately 495.31 million British pounds, or approx. The company filed a lawsuit seeking $647 million in damages. WalesOnline reports that this includes around 8,000 units of Bitcoin.
Howells explained that the lawsuit is a strategy to persuade the city council to allow the landfill to be excavated and does 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 is it important: This strange incident dates back to 2013. While cleaning his office, Mr. Howells unintentionally threw a hard drive containing 8,000 BTC into the trash.
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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In this article: A man who accidentally threw a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoins worth $500 million into a landfill is suing his local city council for not excavating the site.
