Owner of 8,000 lost bitcoin using AI to help with excavation appeal
A man who lost 8,000 bitcoin (BTC) in a UK landfill site 12 years ago says it’s “round two” after launching an appeal against a High Court decision that has prevented him from excavating the site.
James Howells confirmed to Protos today that he has submitted an appeal that will be heard in the Royal Court of Appeal in London.
Howells claims that he’s filed both a request for permission to appeal and a substantive appeal “against the judgment and final order handed down by Judge Keyser KC.”
He told Protos, “I remain confident in the merits of my appeal and firmly believe that I have legitimate grounds under the law for my arguments to succeed.”
Read more: Welsh man claims he can pay for landfill dig in search of lost 8,000 bitcoin
This month, Judge Keyser said that Howells’ case had “no realistic prospect of succeeding” and dismissed it at a High Court hearing. Newport City Council has repeatedly claimed the proposed excavation would breach environmental permits and have a “huge negative environmental impact.”
Howells initially launched a lawsuit last October after threatening to bankrupt the council over its repeated refusal to allow him to dig for the lost crypto trove.
The judge failed to declare him the owner of the BTC which Howells says shot down any plans of tokenizing his lost coins.
Howells reportedly parted ways with his legal team after this month’s court failure and is now representing himself with “a specialized AI agent trained specifically in UK law.” His last team agreed to represent him for free in exchange for a percentage of the lost BTC.
“Given the complexities of my case, I found it challenging to instruct and fully brief new legal representatives within the necessary timeframe. Having a deep understanding of the ins and outs of my case, I decided to represent myself as a Litigant in Person for the upcoming appeal,” he told Protos.
“In summary, I know my case, I know the law, and with the assistance of a specialized AI agent, I am confident in my ability to win the appeal.”
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