James believes the judge’s comments about ownership of the hard drive might offer a glimmer of hope. The judge ruled that the drive belongs to the council – but he didn’t say the same of the bitcoins themselves. If James is recognized as their legal owner, then he’ll propose a new scheme.

This would be a brand-new cryptocurrency, using the value of his ‘buried’ bitcoins as its backing, much as gold stored in vaults once backed up paper currency. He says his inability to access the bitcoin would actually be a benefit rather than a problem, since it would ensure that nobody could ever interfere with it.

And that's not the only option he's considering. James has also revealed he's discussed buying the landfill site outright with the backing of his investment partners. The council has indeed earmarked the site for closure in the coming years and has planning permission to build a solar farm on the site. Could the stars be aligning for James to finally retrieve his treasure? Watch this space.

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