From: Steve Hedley <S.Hedley@ucc.ie>

Sent: Thursday 9 January 2025 15:29

To: obligations@uwo.ca

Subject: RE: Bitcoin and Restitution

 

> Claims that the Bitcoin now worth in excess of £600m

> (more than the value of the landfill site. Or, indeed, Newport.)

 

 

I think Rob is understating Newport's value. 

 

Average house price in Newport is about £240,000 (£237,000 in October 2024).

 

Population of Newport is around 160,000 (161,506 in 2022).

 

Average household size in Newport is 2.4 people (2021).

 

(Figures all from the Office for National Statistics, https://www.ons.gov.uk/.)

 

Therefore, on residential property values alone Newport is worth roughly £16bn.  No doubt commercial and public property would add more.

 

 

 

 

Steve Hedley

9thlevel.ie

s.hedley@ucc.ie

private-law-theory.org

 

 

From: Robert Stevens <robert.stevens@law.ox.ac.uk>
Sent: Thursday 9 January 2025 14:09
To: obligations@uwo.ca; ENRICHMENT@LISTS.MCGILL.CA
Subject: Bitcoin and Restitution

 

[EXTERNAL] This email was sent from outside of UCC.

An amusing case, combining two of the things I am interested in.

 

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2025/22.html

 

The claimant, by mistake, in 2013 deposits a hard drive containing the key to his Bitcoin wallet in a landfill site in Newport. Claims that the Bitcoin now worth in excess of £600m (more than the value of the landfill site. Or, indeed, Newport.)

 

Seeks a declaration that either the council digs up the site to find it, or allows his team of experts to do so.

 

Claim is struck out. Lots of proprietary restitutionary stuff.

 

Rob