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The guy who accidentally threw away $700 million in Bitcoin wants to buy a landfill to find it

James Howells, a British IT worker, accidentally threw away the hard drive that contained a key for over $700 million in Bitcoin. He wants to buy the landfill it went to and try to dig it up.

While the city hasn’t made a final decision, it doesn’t look good for Howells and his “needle in a haystack” plan. In 2017, he pleaded with the city to allow him to dig and officials said no, citing safety concerns and a fear of inciting treasure hunters to descend upon the landfill with shovels. Finally, Howells decided to sue the city of Newport for the right to go traipsing around in the landfill like a really gross, poop-encrusted Indiana Jones.

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