A computer expert who accidentally threw away his Bitcoin fortune has seen his value rocket to £1.5 billion – and launched a legal battle to get it back.
Early crypto investor James Howells, 38, made the disastrous mistake ten years ago when a misunderstanding saw his partner throw out as rubbish a black bin in which he temporarily stored the hard drive with the only access to his crypto assets.
Distraught James has been trying to recover the disc from the council run dump ever since – and has now taken legal action to gain access to search the dump.
But cruelly, James has now seen the value of his lost 8,000 coins rise by almost 40 per cent in the past month alone – meaning they are now worth more than £450m.
He told MailOnline last night: ‘Some experts believe that by the end of the year the price will rise to $25,000 per coin. That would make my hard drive worth £1.5 billion. The municipality might want to leave it in a landfill, but I don’t.
‘They want me to go away and forget about it, but how could anyone? Why should I withdraw? All I want is a chance to get my property back.’
Computer expert James Howells (pictured), 38, who accidentally threw away his Bitcoin fortune, has seen his value rocket to more than £450m. – and has launched a legal battle to get it back
Confused, James has been trying to recover the disk from the council dump (landfill in Newport, Wales) ever since – and has taken legal action to gain access to search the dump
James’s partner trashed a black bin in which he temporarily stored the hard drive with the only access to his crypto assets
Confused, James said there were two identical hard drives in his office and that he had mistakenly bagged the wrong one before it was bagged.
The life-changing mistake ten years ago came when he put the hard drive with his bitcoin wallet in a black bag under an office and left it in the hall of his house.
He was supposed to take trash to the landfill, but said he went to bed that night with a nagging feeling that something was wrong.
James said that before going to bed: ‘Lastly he thought I’ll check the hard drive in the morning to check it’s the right one. I went to sleep and I didn’t get a chance to check.
‘I was going to get up and put them in the car and dump them on the way to work, but I wanted to check them first.
‘I didn’t get the chance. My ex-partner had woken up earlier than me and saw them, then took them in the car and put them in the dump for me.
‘She was doing me a favor or so she thought, she didn’t know what was in there. She did it for me, but she didn’t do it with my permission.’
When James checked, he instantly realized the mistake – and has been desperately trying to get it back ever since, backed by a team of hedge fund investors.
The Bitcoin wallet and computer parts have now been lost in the landfill owned by Labour-run Newport City Council and James has launched High Court action to get it back.
He said: ‘I immediately thought to go and ask “can I get my property back”.’ But James’ repeated requests for access have been refused by officials.
James pictured outside the recycling center in Newport, Gwent, Wales
James said there were two identical hard drives in his office and had mistakenly bagged the wrong one before storing it
He said: ‘It’s a bit like kicking your football over your neighbour’s fence. It’s still your football.
‘I asked for my football back the day it was kicked over the fence – it’s not my fault, no one has answered the door for 10 years.’
James is being funded in his legal battle to take over the council by a team of hedge fund investors who will take a share of the value if the bitcoin is successfully retrieved.
His financiers put together a team of search experts and data recovery engineers in hopes of finding the hard drive and getting it working again.
They also fund his legal team, which includes a KC based in London to represent him in the High Court.
James previously offered to share the proceeds of a successful find with the cash-strapped Labor Council if they gave permission, but to no avail.
James said his team was pursuing an injunction that no one else could dig on the land and damages for the full valuation of the bitcoin – now worth more than £350m.
Speaking earlier about how he foresees any search working out, he said: “I have put together a full consortium of experts in the field to refute all the claims that the council has said it has concerns about.”
‘I have spoken to data recovery experts who worked with Nasa on the Columbia space shuttle disaster.
‘They were able to recover from a shuttle that exploded and they don’t seem to think that being in a landfill will be a problem.’
James is being funded in his legal battle to take over the council by a team of hedge fund investors who will take a share of the value if the bitcoin is recovered.
James previously offered to share the proceeds of a successful find with the cash-strapped Labor Council if they gave permission, but to no avail
Newport Council previously said: ‘We have been contacted several times since 2013 about the possibility of retrieving a piece of IT hardware said to contain bitcoins which may or may not be in our landfill.
‘The council has repeatedly told Mr Howells that excavation is not possible under our environmental permit and work of that nature would have a huge negative environmental impact on the surrounding area.
“We have been very clear and consistent in our response that we cannot assist Mr. Howells in this matter. Our position has not changed. We will not be making any further comment on this matter as it takes up valuable officer time which could be spent on providing services to the residents of Newport.’
Asked specifically about his legal claims, a spokesman said they had no further comment.