Prominent antivirus company’s founder, John McAfee, made sure to stay relevant in the crypto-verse with his predictions and extreme bullishness towards Bitcoin [BTC]. But, unfortunately, this crypto security veteran was found dead in his prison cell in Barcelona, Spain, where he was serving time for tax evasion.
The crypto community garnered immense support from the cybersecurity vet over the years; however, his prediction of BTC hitting $500,000 in 2020 is what stood out for many. While this prediction did not come true, Bitcoin did fare well in 2020. McAfee even rolled out a privacy token called Ghost, which had put him under the crypto spotlight. But, this project didn’t make any advancements, and the crypto advocate abandoned the project.
McAfee was arrested in October last year for hiding his assets from the IRS during all of this. Spanish authorities captured him in Barcelona’s international airport. While he was stuck here, McAfee sought extradition to the US. This, however, took time to process as it required the involvement of Spain’s high court.
Earlier today, the Spanish High Court approved the extradition of John McAfee to the US. While another set of charges pertaining to cryptocurrencies were awaiting McAfee in the Manhattan federal court, the 75-year-old business tycoon had committed suicide in his prison cell. His lawyers affirmed that McAfee had hung himself and the prison medical services almost immediately tried to resuscitate him. Confirming the same, the prison officials stated,
“The judicial procession has traveled to the prison and is investigating the causes of death. Everything indicates that it could be a death by suicide.”
Furthermore, his extradition process took quite a while as rumors about his political motivation surfaced. As this was dismissed and his charges were limited to tax evasion, the court had finally approved his extradition. John McAfee’s lawyer in Spain, Javier Villalba, spoke to Reuters and noted that the cybersecurity veteran did not want to be locked up anymore. The lawyer added,
“This is the result of a cruel system that had no reason to keep this man in jail for so long.”
John McAfee garners tributes across industries
John McAfee had undoubtedly amassed a large following throughout the crypto-verse. Several crypto influencers, including IOHK’s Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Pompliano, and even Kim Dotcom, expressed their condolences.
Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency member, also commented on the whole extradition process and suggested that the system was unfair and cruel. His tweet read,
“Europe should not extradite those accused of non-violent crimes to a court system so unfair—and prison system so cruel—that native-born defendants would rather die than become subject to it. Julian Assange could be next. Until the system is reformed, a moratorium should remain.”
