During the record price surge of Bitcoin (BTC) back in 2017, John McAfee, an eccentric English-American businessman, computer programmer, and crypto enthusiast, made a bold declaration in favor of the widely popular cryptocurrency. First, he stated on his Twitter account that, given the current trend that Bitcoin was on, the price of the cryptocurrency would reach 500,000 USD by 2020. At the time, Bitcoin’s price was about 1 BTC = 3,000 USD and rising. Social media users quickly took on the bet, McAfee went on to say he would eat his penis on national TV if BTC doesn’t hit 500,000 by the end of the year.
Three months later, McAfee made yet another prediction for Bitcoin, doubling-down and stating that the price of one Bitcoin would be equivalent to 1 Million USD by 2020. Naturally, the bet to eat his penis still stood at the time. This declaration became so popular that a website to track the progress was created, aptly named the Dickening.
By January 2020 though, McAfee capitulated and stated on Twitter that he just made the declaration to onboard new users and that it worked. He even went so far as to declare Bitcoin outdated, renouncing BTC altogether in favor for Ethereum. But just who is John McAfee and why does his opinion have an impact in the world of cryptocurrency? ChangeNOW looks into the colorful life of the man who staked his penis on the success of Bitcoin.