#UK court halts treasure hunt plan#
Hot Topic Overview
Overview
A UK court has rejected IT engineer James Howells' application to search a landfill for a hard drive containing $735 million worth of Bitcoin. Howells accidentally discarded the hard drive in 2013, which contained Bitcoin he mined in 2009. The court ruled that searching the landfill posed significant environmental risks and that the case had "no realistic prospect of success" at trial. Newport City Council has consistently refused access to the landfill, ultimately ending Howells' treasure hunt.
Ace Hot Topic Analysis
Analysis
A UK court has dismissed 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, when the cryptocurrency was worth only a few cents. He has been trying to persuade Newport City Council to allow him access to the landfill to excavate, but the council has consistently refused, arguing that it would cause irreversible damage to the environment. Judge Keyser KC ruled that the case had "no realistic prospect of success at trial" and therefore dismissed Howells' application. This ruling means that Howells will not be able to retrieve his Bitcoin by excavating the landfill, and the valuable digital assets will remain buried in the landfill forever.
Public Sentiment · Discussion Word Cloud
Public Sentiment
Discussion Word Cloud
Classic Views
Finding the Bitcoin hard drive poses a significant environmental risk, as it would require excavating large landfills, causing pollution and destruction.
The case has "no realistic chance of success" in court, as the likelihood of finding the hard drive is extremely low, and even if found, it may be damaged and unusable.
Newport City Council has refused to allow excavation of the landfill, as it would cause irreversible damage to the surrounding environment.
Even if the hard drive is found, it may not be possible to recover the Bitcoin, as the private keys may have been lost and are inaccessible.