-
A
British
man
has
filed
a
legal
claim
against
a
local
council
in
an
attempt
to
retrieve
a
hard
drive
containing
8,000
BTC
he
accidentally
threw
out
in
2013. -
Howells
assembled
a
team
to
carry
out
a
$13
million
excavation
of
the
landfill,
which
would
take
between
18
and
36
months
to
carry
out
with
a
further
year
of
remediation
work. -
The
council
has
rejected
the
request
out
of
environmental
concerns.
A
British
man
has
filed
a
legal
claim
against
a
local
council
in
Wales
in
an
attempt
to
retrieve
a
hard
drive
containing
8,000
BTC
that
he
accidentally
threw
out
in
2013,
according
to
news
website
WalesOnline.
The
story
of
James
Howells,
39,
is
well
known
in
Bitcoin
lore.
In
2013,
Howells
accidentally
threw
out
a
nhard
drive
containing
his
bitcoin
stash
that
he
had
mined
in
2009,
worth
around
$1
million
at
the
time
but
now
worth
about
$527
million.
Over
the
last
decade,
Howells
has
made
requests
to
Newport
Council
–
proprietors
of
the
landfill
where
the
hard
drive
ended
up
–
to
retrieve
it,
but
he
claims
he
has
been
“largely
ignored.”
He
is
now
suing
the
council
for
damages
of
495
million
pounds
($646
million),
representing
the
peak
valuation
that
8,000
BTC
reached
earlier
this
year.
The
case
is
due
to
be
heard
in
December
this
year,
but
Howells
said
that
his
aim
is
to
“leverage”
the
council
into
agreeing
to
an
excavation
of
the
site
in
order
to
avoid
a
legal
battle,
according
to
the
report.
Howells
assembled
a
team
to
carry
out
a
$13
million
excavation
of
the
site,
which
includes
the
council’s
former
head
of
landfill,
who
claims
to
know
the
particular
area
where
the
hard
drive
is
now
located.
The
excavation
would
take
between
18
and
36
months
to
carry
out
with
a
further
year
of
remediation
work,
which
the
council
has
rejected
out
of
environmental
concerns.
“I’m
still
allocating
10%
of
the
value
for
the
council
even
though
they
have
been
problematic
throughout,”
Howells
said,
according
to
the
report.
“That
would
be
41
million
pounds
based
on
today’s
rate
but
in
the
future
it
could
be
hundreds
of
millions.”