A British man has been searching his local landfill for a hard drive he disposed of, which contains $7.5 million in Bitcoins. Recent increases in the value of the virtual currency has seen James Howells' 7,500 Bitcoins, which he purchased in 2009 for nearly nothing, rise to the huge amount, and now he wants his hard drive back.
When Howells bought the Bitcoins they were stored in a wallet file on his computer's hard drive, however their value at the time prompted him to forget about them. It was only recently that he was reading stories about the virtual currency and the success stories of others investments; naturally Howells begun to regret throwing out the drive during an IT equipment clearout earlier in the year.
Upon visiting the landfill site, it wasn't looking good for Howells' recovery efforts. The drive is likely buried under three to five feet of garbage somewhere in a site the size of a football field, presenting a massive task for a single person without any protective gear or equipment. Even then, the drive might be destroyed beyond repair if it's eventually found.
Just a few days ago, Bitcoin reached $1,000 for the first time after doubling its valuation over the course of two weeks. Early adopters of the virtual currency have quickly found themselves in the posession of a lot of money, and there's no telling how much further the value of Bitcoin will continue to grow.