Bitcoin billionaire Mircea Popescu dead at 41
Mystery surrounds the fate of Bitcoin billionaire Mircea Popescu amid reports he drowned off the coast of Costa Rica.
The widely reported death of the controversial investor has
now sparked speculation about what will happen to his bitcoin fortune — which
is estimated to be worth more than $US2 billion ($A2.7 billion)
According to site Teletica, Romanian Popescu, 41, drowned
after taking an 8.30am morning swim in the resort of Playa Hermosa, which is
known as a surfing destination because of its massive waves..
Popescu was most known for his blogging about Bitcoin and
other cryptocurrencies across multiple platforms and forums.
But his statements were often condemned as being fascist,
racist and sexist.
He was also believed by many to be one of the largest
individual bitcoin holders, with the Independent estimating his fortune to be
more than £1.4 billion.
But unconfirmed rumours swirling about the internet claim
his family cannot access his Bitcoin addresses, where it is claimed he held a
million Bitcoins.
If the billionaire had not made arrangements for others to
get access to his wallets, those tokens could end up being lost forever.
It follows the death of software mogul John McAfee who was
found dead last week in a Barcelona cell, who was also said to have vast sums
tied up in cryptocurrency.
Research Analyst at Crypto Briefing Alexander Mardar said:
“It looks like that with the deaths of Mircea Popescu and John McAfee a
significant amount of $BTC might be lost forever.”
Former CoinDesk editor-in-chief Pete Rizzo said Popescu was
also an antagonist of other prominent figures in the early years of bitcoin.
Following reports of his death, Mr Rizzo tweeted: “Mircea
will endure as one of bitcoin’s most vilified figures and inarguably one of its
greatest philosophers.”
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