?? Couple owns 3,000 ethers, but without access to wallet
?? Lawsuit against the Ethereum Foundation
?? A crowdfunding campaign was launched to cover legal fees
Couple buys 3,000 ethers in advance
In 2014, the Ethereum Foundation started a pre-sale to raise money that was urgently needed for further development of the cryptocurrency and the platform. A couple from the United States, Yuki and Art Williams, took advantage of this opportunity and bought 3,000 ethers for 1.5 Bitcoin, which at the time was worth around $ 932, according to ABC7 News. Obviously something went wrong with the purchase, as the couple have been unable to get their money back since. The two of them can see the 3,000 ethers in their wallet, but they don’t have access and they can’t open them.
Wallet password is missing
Everyone who participated in the Ether pre-sale about seven years ago would have had to download a JSON file containing the wallet’s private keys. However, the Williamses claim they never received this file. As Art Williams recently explained to ABC7-News, there should have been a note at the time to not turn off the PC for a certain time while the file was downloading: “The instructions were to leave the computer on for an hour and a half, and when the progress bar indicated that it was filling up, the JSON file was showing up. Unfortunately, it was not showing up. ” However, this reference, which Art Williams is talking about, cannot be found in various archival versions of the website, as online magazine Mashable discovered. Also, the JSON file is a small text file that only takes a few seconds to download, even with a poor internet connection. A tutorial on YouTube explaining the purchase process at that time also emphasizes over and over again that the JSON file should always be downloaded before submitting your Bitcoin to the foundation. Only in the next step is the address provided to which the coins will be sent for payment. Williams’ story does not appear to be entirely conclusive.
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Lawsuit against Ethereum
The Williamses are still fighting for their 3,000 ethers. In the wake of the failed purchase process, Art Williams sent the Swiss-based Ethereum Foundation the proof of purchase and screenshots to prove something went wrong. Since the foundation did not send a backup JSON file despite everything, the couple hired a law firm in Switzerland. In a 2018 email ABC7-News received, Williams’ legal team announced that they had been able to speak with the foundation’s attorney and were trying to restore the corresponding JSON file. Two weeks later, the lawyer reiterated that the foundation was doing everything possible to restore the file, but that it would take time. A subsequent comparison offer from the Swiss arbitration authority in the amount of 2,750 Ether Coins resulted in nothing, reports ABC7-News. Some time later, the Ethereum Foundation legal team stated: “We continue to believe that Ethereum does not accept any responsibility for the loss of wallets, passwords and private keys.”
Now the Williamses want to collect US $ 250,000 through crowdfunding so they can then take the Ethereum Foundation to an international tribunal, according to ABC7-News. However, given the facts, the lawsuit is unlikely to be successful. Also, the Ethereum Foundation should probably no longer have the corresponding JSON file with the password, because then it would have access to all the wallets. Williams’s 3,000 Ether-Coins, which would now be worth around US $ 8 million, should be lost.
Editorial team of Finanzen.net
Image Sources: Lightboxx / Shutterstock.com, Steve Heap / Shutterstock.com
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