Bitcoin millionaire hides over Rs 17 crore in treasures across US, leaves clues to find them

Millionaire and treasure-hunting entrepreneur John Collins-Black has packed in gold bullion, gold coins, and precious metals and over sixty-five rare and valuable items into the treasure chests. (Image credit: treasureinside.com)

A millionaire in the US — who made a fortune in Bitcoin investing — has hidden more than $2 million (about Rs 17 crore) in treasures across the country. The five chests are full of valuables ranging from shipwreck-salvaged gold doubloons to rare Pokémon cards and Jon Collins-Black has left a book full of clues to help treasure hunters find them, the New York Post reported.

Titled "There’s Treasure Inside,” the book is filled with puzzles and maps, and all the clues needed to discover the location of the chests.

“You don’t have to be a genius to solve the clues. There’s no grand cypher. If you have curiosity, imagination, and the willingness to try something new, you can find the treasures that I’ve hidden,” Collins-Black said.

Some of the valuables in the treasure chests. (Image credit: treasureinside.com)

Valuables hidden in the chests were selected to appeal to a wide range of audiences. There's a Bitcoin — which is worth nearly $100,000 (about Rs 84 lakh) and is likely to increase by the time its chest is found. Other items include a diamond and sapphire brooch owned by Jacqueline Onassis, a fourth century BCE gold Greek laurel, a coin designed and minted by Pablo Picasso, Michael Jordan’s 1986 rookie card, and a rare specimen of moon rock.

"Chosen to appeal to as many different tastes and interests as possible, items include Bitcoin, antiquities, shipwreck bounty, rare Pokémon cards, sports memorabilia, gold, precious metals and rare gems. Other objects have historical significance, including ones made or owned by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Andrew Carnegie, George Washington, Amelia Earhart, Jackie Onassis, Henry David Thoreau, and Louis Comfort Tiffany," the Treasure Inside site stated.

Collins-Black said that none of the chests are located in a dangerous location and all are somewhere in the open — not buried. They are also less than 1 km from a public road.

He added that he devised this plan during the Covid pandemic. “I created this treasure hunt because I live for adventure,” Collins-Black said of the project, which he devised during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. I hope to ignite that same sense of wonder and curiosity in everyone who joins this journey,” he said.