James Howells’ mission to retrieve a hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins – now worth around £620m – from a landfill site in Newport, Wales, shows no signs of slowing down. Despite facing setbacks, including a High Court judge dismissing his efforts to access the landfill or secure £495m in compensation.
Howells claims that his ex-partner mistakenly threw out the hard drive in 2013 and it ended up on the council-owned tip. He has now decided to represent himself in a case at the Court of Appeal, using artificial intelligence to support his claim. The AI will help him present seven “solid grounds in law” for his case.
Howells believes that buying and excavating the site would save the council significant maintenance costs once it closes. However, the council has made no indication of interest in selling the site and has secured planning permission for a solar farm on part of the land.
Despite the challenges, Howells remains determined to retrieve his lost bitcoins. He says he will “absolutely not” give up, comparing his fight to the final battle in Braveheart. With the value of bitcoin increasing dramatically in recent months, Howells sees this as his “9 to 5” and is willing to continue pursuing his mission until it is resolved.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czdl6er0369o