Controversial bitcoin billionaire Mircia Popescu, 41, has died suddenly, leaving behind a huge crypto fortune that could be worth up to $2 billion – something that some speculate could be lost forever.
Popescu, once known for being one of the largest individual holders of bitcoin in the world, drowned off the coast of Playa Hermosa near Playa Hermosa last week after swimming. local news report.
Popescu reportedly “was swept away by the stream and died on the spot.”
their death since it was confirmed by three women was supposedly known to be close to him, though others have questioned whether he is actually dead.
his website, which he previously actively maintained, has not been updated since June 23, the day of his reported death.
Popescu, a controversial figure with “documented examples of sexism and bigotry”, According to Nasdaq.com, was assumed to hold At least tens of thousands of bitcoins, some of which are estimated to be even larger.
Based on bitcoin’s peak value in April, the low end of those estimates would value Popescu’s ownership at close to $2 billion. Based on the current value of bitcoin, his holdings would have been closer to $1 billion.
It is unclear who has access to its digital assets, and crypto watchers are already speculating that luck may be on the way.
Alexander Marder, a research analyst at Crypto Briefing, said on Twitter that Popescu’s bitcoins could be lost forever, as well as John McAfee, the antivirus software pioneer who hanged himself in a Spanish prison cell last week.
Anthony Pompliano, founder of Pompe Investments and noted bitcoin bull market, said in a deleted tweet that the loss of Popescu’s holdings could benefit other existing holders of the crypto.
“Mircea Popescu, a Bitcoin OG, has passed away. She has the potential to have enough bitcoin.” Pompliano said In a since-deleted tweet on June 27. “We may never know how much or how much they are lost forever, but reminds me [of what] Satoshi said: ‘It is the lost coins that give a little more value to everyone else’s coins. Think of it as charity for all.'”
Pompliano was referencing a quote for Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym used by the unknown person or people who developed bitcoin.
Others in the crypto space mourned the loss of Popescu, who was known as a bitcoin pioneer and early adopter.
Bitcoin magazine editor Pete Rizzo said that Popescu was known by some as the “father of bitcoin poisoning”.
Popescu’s most high-profile crypto venture was probably MPX, a self-proclaimed bitcoin securities exchange, which he launched in 2012, long before bitcoin gained its current popularity.
According to an email issued by Popescu himself, the Securities and Exchange Commission investigated MPX in 2014.
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