法官驳回男子从垃圾填埋场回收装有价值 6 亿英镑比特币的硬盘的行为

James Howells 辩称，他的前伴侣在 2013 年不小心扔掉了装有比特币钱包的硬盘，他寻求进入垃圾填埋场的许可

A man's bid to sue a council to retrieve a Bitcoin hard drive from a rubbish tip has been dismissed by a judge.

一名男子起诉议会，要求从垃圾堆中取回比特币硬盘，但已被法官驳回。

James Howells, from Newport, South Wales, claims his ex-partner accidentally threw away the hard drive in 2013 - and that it is now worth around £600 million.

来自南威尔士纽波特的詹姆斯·豪厄尔斯 (James Howells) 声称，他的前伴侣在 2013 年不小心扔掉了硬盘，而现在它的价值约为 6 亿英镑。

He had asked the High Court for permission to access the landfill to try to recover the cryptocurrency.

他已请求高等法院允许进入垃圾填埋场以尝试回收加密货币。

Mr Howells even offered a share of the recovered Bitcoin with Newport City Council if the hard drive was successfully found.

如果成功找到硬盘，豪厄尔斯先生甚至向纽波特市议会提供了一部分恢复的比特币。

But the council asked a High Court judge to strike out Mr Howells' legal action, which aimed either to access the site or instead to receive £495 million in compensation.

但该委员会要求高等法院法官驳回豪厄尔斯先生的法律诉讼，该诉讼旨在要么访问该网站，要么获得 4.95 亿英镑的赔偿。

Judge Keyser KC ruled on Monday that there were no "reasonable grounds" for the claim and that there was "no realistic prospect" of success if the case went to trial.

凯瑟·KC 法官周一裁定，这一指控没有“合理的理由”，而且如果案件进入审判阶段，“没有成功的现实前景”。

During the December hearing, the court was told Mr Howells was an early adopter of Bitcoin and had successfully mined the cryptocurrency.

在 12 月的听证会上，法院被告知 Howells 先生是比特币的早期采用者，并且已经成功开采了这种加密货币。

As the value of his missing digital wallet increased, Mr Howells assembled a team of experts to try to locate, recover, and access the hard drive.

随着丢失的数字钱包的价值不断增加，豪厄尔斯先生组建了一个专家团队，试图找到、恢复和访问硬盘。

He had repeatedly requested permission from the council to access the landfill and had even offered a share of the recovered Bitcoin if the hard drive was successfully found.

他曾多次请求委员会允许他进入垃圾填埋场，如果成功找到硬盘，他甚至愿意分享回收的比特币。

Mr Howells mined the Bitcoin back in 2009 for a negligible cost and says he completely forgot about it when he discarded the hard drive.

豪厄尔斯先生在 2009 年以微不足道的成本开采了比特币，并表示当他丢弃硬盘时，他完全忘记了这件事。

With Bitcoin's value rising more than 80% in 2024, Mr Howells now estimates his 8,000 bitcoins are worth over £600 million.

随着比特币的价值在 2024 年上涨超过 80%，豪厄尔斯先生现在估计他的 8,000 个比特币价值超过 6 亿英镑。

But James Goudie KC, representing the council, said the hard drive became the council's property as soon as it entered the landfill site under existing laws.

但代表该委员会的 James Goudie KC 表示，根据现行法律，该硬盘一旦进入垃圾填埋场，就成为该委员会的财产。

He also pointed out that the council’s environmental permits would prohibit any excavation to search for the hard drive.

他还指出，该委员会的环境许可证将禁止任何挖掘硬盘的行为。

Mr Goudie said the offer to donate 10% of the Bitcoin to the local community was encouraging the council to "play fast and loose," essentially "signing up for a share of the action."

古迪先生表示，向当地社区捐赠 10% 比特币的提议鼓励该委员会“快速而宽松地行事”，本质上是“签署参与行动的一部分”。

In his written judgment, the judge stated: "I also find that the claim has no realistic prospect of success if it went to trial and that there is no other compelling reason to proceed with the case."

法官在书面判决中表示：“我还认为，如果进入审判阶段，该索赔没有成功的现实前景，并且没有其他令人信服的理由继续审理此案。”

The landfill contains over 1.4 million tonnes of waste, but Mr Howells claimed he had pinpointed the location of the hard drive to an area with around 100,000 tonnes of waste.

该垃圾填埋场含有超过 140 万吨废物，但豪厄尔斯先生声称他已将硬盘的位置精确到了一个约有 10 万吨废物的区域。

Mr Howells has speculated that the Bitcoin on his hard drive could be worth £1 billion by next year.

豪厄尔斯先生推测，到明年他硬盘上的比特币可能价值 10 亿英镑。

Speaking to BBC Wales outside the court in Cardiff last December, Mr Howells expressed confidence in his case and said he was prepared to take it all the way to the Supreme Court.

去年 12 月，豪厄尔斯在卡迪夫法院外接受 BBC Wales 采访时表示，他对自己的案件充满信心，并表示他准备将案件一路上诉到最高法院。