What would you do to get rich quick? For James Howells, he is willing to buy a landfill believed to be the grave of 8000 Bitcoins worth around £616 million (~RM 3.43 billion). Since 2013, Howell, who lives in the United Kindgom, has been asking Newport Council in Wales for permission to search for the hard drive containing his Bitcoin digital wallet after it was accidentally thrown away.
The hard drive was placed in a black plastic bag and then thrown away by his partner, who thought it was garbage. He tried to get permission to search for the hard drive but was denied by the council and the court on security grounds. Howells once promised to give the council 25% of his Bitcoin if they were allowed to search for the missing hard drive but was rejected.
After more than a decade, the landfill will close this year and Howell with the help of several investors is interested in buying the landfill when it closes. Attempts to find the hard drive are nearly impossible as it is buried under 25,000 cubic meters of rubble and soil.
Last year, the value of one Bitcoin soared to $106,000 from $75,000 at the start of the year, buoyed by positive sentiment after President Trump won the election. Today, it has fallen back to around $95,000.