FxNews—A man from Britain has taken legal action against a council in Wales to get back a hard drive he mistakenly threw away in 2013. This hard drive contains 8,000 bitcoins, a digital currency initially reported by WalesOnline. At the time, he lost it, and it was worth about $1 million. Now, it’s valued at approximately $527 million.
As of this writing, one bitcoin is worth $65,876, as the 4-hour chart below shows.
James Howells Sues for $646M Over Lost Bitcoins
James Howells, 39, is known among Bitcoin enthusiasts for his unfortunate loss. He mined these bitcoins back in 2009. Over the past ten years, Howells has repeatedly asked the Newport Council, the landfill owners where his hard drive ended up, to allow him to search for it.
He feels they have largely ignored his requests. He is now suing them for 495 million pounds (around $646 million), the highest value the bitcoins reached earlier this year.
Ex-Landfill Manager Joins $13M Hard Drive Search
The lawsuit is scheduled for a hearing in December. However, Howells hopes to persuade the council to let him dig up the trash yard to find the hard drive, avoiding a courtroom showdown.
He has assembled a team for an excavation project costing $13 million, including a former landfill manager who believes he knows exactly where the hard drive is.
The digging could take up to three years, with another year needed to fix any environmental damage, which is why the council has previously said no due to ecological concerns.
Despite the difficulties with the council, Howells is willing to give them 10% of the current bitcoin value. This amount could be 41 million pounds now, but potentially much more in the future.