一名男子奮力找回遺失的硬碟，裡面裝有價值超過 6 億美元的比特幣

來自威爾斯紐波特的 IT 工程師 James Howells 表示，他的夥伴不小心丟掉的硬碟上儲存了 8,000 個比特幣

A man is battling to retrieve a misplaced hard drive containing Bitcoin currently now worth over $600 million.

一名男子正在努力找回一個遺失的硬碟，其中包含目前價值超過 6 億美元的比特幣。

We've all misplaced our keys, lost our wallet or forgotten where we put our coat, but for James Howells, when his hard drive went missing back in 2013, it was far more serious a concern.

我們都曾丟過鑰匙、丟過錢包或忘記把外套放在哪裡，但對 James Howells 來說，2013 年他的硬碟遺失時，這是一個更嚴重的問題。

The IT engineer, from Newport, Wales, says 8,000 Bitcoins were stored on the hard drive which his partner accidentally threw out - with the cryptocurrency worth an eye-watering amount today.

這位來自威爾斯紐波特的 IT 工程師表示，他的伙伴不小心扔掉的硬碟上存儲了 8,000 個比特幣 - 如今這些加密貨幣的價值令人瞠目結舌。

The conundrum

難題

Soon after realizing his partner had accidentally ditched the hard drive at Newport City Council's landfill site, Howells immediately called the council and asked to come and retrieve it.

豪厄爾斯意識到他的搭檔不小心把硬碟扔到了紐波特市議會的垃圾掩埋場後不久，他立即打電話給議會，要求上門取回它。

Unfortunately, the council said no and a battle commenced, with Howell resolving to sue the council for $648m for not allowing him to come and find the hard drive, alongside reportedly hiring NASA data recovery engineers to pin point where the hard drive may be lying.

不幸的是，該委員會拒絕了，一場戰鬥開始了，豪威爾決定起訴該委員會，要求賠償6.48 億美元，因為該委員會不允許他來尋找硬碟，據報道，他還聘請了NASA 數據恢復工程師來查明硬碟可能所在的位置。

And to make matters even more frustrating for Howells, the worth of the Bitcoins has since increased even further in recent times.

更讓豪厄爾斯感到沮喪的是，比特幣的價值近年來進一步上漲。

How much the Bitcoins are worth now

比特幣現在值多少錢

Howells told the BBC the hard drive is now worth over $632,079,290 and at the time of writing, 8,000 Bitcoins are worth even more - a staggering $735,629,360.

Howells 告訴 BBC，該硬碟現在的價值超過 632,079,290 美元，在撰寫本文時，8,000 個比特幣的價值甚至更高 - 達到驚人的 735,629,360 美元。

Why? Well, Donald Trump winning the 2024 US Presidential Election led to a spike in the price of the digital currency, so much so its value has reached an all time high.

為什麼？唐納德·川普贏得 2024 年美國總統大選，導致數位貨幣價格飆升，其價值達到歷史新高。

But if the hard drive is worth such a lot, why is the council still refusing to help Howells retrieve it?

但如果硬碟價值如此之高，為什麼市議會仍然拒絕幫助豪厄爾斯取回它？

The battle continues

戰鬥仍在繼續

Well, a spokesman for Newport Council said the council has told Howells 'multiple times' an excavation is 'not possible under our environmental permit and that work of that nature would have a huge negative environmental impact on the surrounding area' and that it's the 'only body authorised to carry out operations on the site' and 'follows a strict monitoring and reporting regime for all environmental parameters'.

紐波特市議會的發言人表示，該市議會已「多次」告訴豪厄爾斯，「根據我們的環境許可證，不可能進行挖掘工作，這種性質的工作將對週邊地區產生巨大的負面環境影響”，而且“唯一被授權在現場進行作業的機構”，並且“對所有環境參數遵循嚴格的監測和報告製度”。

Howells responded: "They [the council] are currently, in my opinion, withholding my property without my consent and they’re not allowing me to search for it.

豪厄爾斯回應道：「在我看來，他們（議會）目前在未經我同意的情況下扣押了我的財產，並且不允許我尋找它。

"The last time we put an offer to them to meet, it was worth £500 million ($632,079,290) , a few weeks ago, and they refused that...

「幾週前，我們上次向他們提出會面的邀請，金額為 5 億英鎊（632,079,290 美元），但他們拒絕了…

"I am still willing to avert court action and have a sensible and amicable conversation with Newport City Council, but there has to be no messing around. They have to come and speak to me.”

“我仍然願意避免法庭訴訟，並與紐波特市議會進行明智和友好的對話，但不能有任何混亂。他們必須來和我說話。”

A Newport City Council spokesperson said: "Mr. Howells has brought a civil claim against the council for a sum in the region of £0.5bn.

紐波特市議會發言人表示：「豪厄爾斯先生已向市議會提出民事索賠，索賠金額約 5 億英鎊。

The claim has no merit, and the council is vigorously resisting it.

這項說法毫無根據，市議會正在極力抵制。