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An expert in British computers who misplaced a hard drive containing over 7,500 Bitcoins has offered to purchase a portion of the Newport landfill where he thinks the device is buried.
The offer was made by James Howells, who has been battling the Newport City Council for permission to search for the hard drive since the council declared its intention to close the waste facility.
Buried Hard Drive
Howells claims that the hard drive is buried in a part of the landfill that has 100,000 metric tonnes of rubbish on it. There are almost 1.4 million metric tonnes of garbage in the dump. The council intends to construct a solar farm on the site and close the landfill during the financial year 2025–2026.
He has been fighting the council for years, and if Newport's plan is approved, he will no longer be able to access the rubbish. Howells argued why the dump was closed and planned to contest a judgment that would give the council control of the Bitcoins.
Rejection of Howells' Request
James Howell asked:
“The council's decision to close the landfill so quickly is surprising, especially because of that they stated in the High Court that shutting the landfill to permit my search would have a significant negative effect on Newport residents, even though they still planned on closing the landfill.”
In January, a U.K. judge rejected Howells' request to compel the council to give him more than $500 million or allow him to explore the dump. Howells' action was dismissed by Judge Keyser, who stated there was no reasonable chance of the claim being successful at trial.
The decision further hurt his chances because it basically maintained the council's ownership claim on the hard drive. But Howells isn't giving up and has looked into the idea of purchasing the landfill with his investors.
Bitcoin Loss Impact
Howells' effort at digging was previously rejected by the council, which claims that the operation would be overly expensive and have significant negative effects on the environment. According to their statement from October, the environmental license prohibited digging because it would negatively impact the region around it.
According to Howells, as AI technology advances, it should be possible to locate the hard disc for almost nothing. But the council refuses to change his mind, so Howells appears to be left with no other choice.
What goes on in the world of digital currency is far more extensive than the missing Bitcoins. However, renowned Web3 CEO Al Leong was reported as saying that up to 13 percent of the total supply, or roughly 3 million Bitcoin, might be missing.
