#UK court halts treasure hunt plan#
Hot Topic Overview
Overview
A UK court has dismissed an application by IT engineer James Howells to search a landfill for $735 million worth of Bitcoin. Howells accidentally discarded a hard drive containing the Bitcoin in 2013 at a landfill in Newport and has been trying to get permission to excavate the site ever since. However, Newport City Council has consistently refused, citing environmental risks. The judge ruled that the case had "no realistic prospect of success at trial" and therefore dismissed Howells' application.
Ace Hot Topic Analysis
Analysis
A UK court has rejected IT engineer James Howells' application to search a Newport landfill for a hard drive containing $735 million worth of Bitcoin, citing environmental risks. Howells accidentally discarded the hard drive containing the Bitcoin in 2013 and has been trying to persuade Newport City Council to allow him access to the landfill to excavate. However, the court ruled that the case had "no realistic prospect of success" at trial, as excavating the landfill would cause significant environmental damage and the chances of finding the hard drive were extremely slim. Judge Keyser KC said that even if Howells found the hard drive, there was no guarantee it would still be functional or that the data could be recovered. The ruling means Howells' treasure hunt has failed completely, and he will forever lose his fortune in Bitcoin.
Public Sentiment · Discussion Word Cloud
Public Sentiment
Discussion Word Cloud
Classic Views
Finding the Bitcoin hard drive poses a significant environmental risk, so the court dismissed the application.
The case had "no realistic chance of success" at trial, so the court dismissed the application.
The Newport City Council has consistently refused access to the landfill, making the plan to find the Bitcoin hard drive impossible to implement.
The cost of finding the Bitcoin hard drive is too high, and the success rate is extremely low, so the court dismissed the application.