Here are the complete list of weird incidents that happened this year.
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By 2021, the cryptocurrency market cap is growing 286% annually, increasing the industry by $2.17 trillion in the stratosphere. But with this massive accumulation of wealth, comes an industry-wide explosion of special stories. From the suspicious deaths of multiple crypto evangelists and the crypto scams of Twitter accounts hacked by heads of state to the high-profile NFT declines of celebrities bombing auctions, 2021 has been a wild year for the cryptocurrency virtual world. Without further ado, let's take a look at the weirdest stories to spell for blockchain enthusiasts of the year.
No.1 John McAfee's Death
On June 23, John McAfee, a crypto evangelist and co-founder of anti-virus software company McAfee, was found dead in what appeared to be suicide by hanging in a Spanish prison cell. The United States, one of the few countries that imposes a citizenship tax — that is, Americans tax their global income annually regardless of where they live — filed for McDuffie's extradition for failing to file taxes through 2018 and it is alleged that he did not report any income for his crypto project. McAfee was arrested in Spain on charges of US tax evasion. In 2018, McAfee reportedly charged up to $105,000 per tweet for promoting Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) on social media.
In another tweet two years ago, McAfee said, “If I killed myself, I wouldn't have done it. I Was Hit”, which gave rise to a conspiracy theory that the businessman's death could have been the result of an organized attack. McAfee is known for his pioneering efforts in programming, early adoption of Bitcoin (BTC), and his eccentric personality. He famously said he would "eat his dick on national television" if the price of BTC did not hit $500,000 by 2020. In November, original software development company McAfee was acquired by a private investor for $14 billion. McAfee survived his widow Janice McAfee and her children (who McAfee claims are at least 47 years old).
No.2 Indian Prime Minister appears to be tweeting a scam involving BTC
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Twitter account was hacked again in December, with scammers claiming India accepted BTC as a nationwide offering and 500 BTC was available for immediate distribution to Indian citizens who signed up via phishing. The tweet was viewed by the public and Modi's 73.4 million followers before being downloaded. A year earlier, a cybercrime group called John Week hacked the Prime Minister's Twitter account and posted messages urging his followers to create cryptocurrencies.
There are several hypotheses as to why Modi was the target of this fake Bitcoin hack. One possible motive is revenge for the ongoing Bitcoin scandal in the Indian state of Karnataka. According to Indian media, Karnataka police and government officials accepted a bribe of 12,900 BTC from hacker Shrikrishna Ramesh, who was arrested in previous years for hacking three crypto exchanges and other websites. When Karnataka Prime Minister Basavaraj Bomai asked about the matter at a meeting with Modi in November, the prime minister allegedly denied the question. India is currently facing a chaotic regulatory environment regarding the state of cryptocurrencies in the country.
No.3 Inverted Constitution of DAO Uno
Back in November, a group of private investors had formed a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to raise funds to purchase the latest private copy of the first edition of the United States Constitution at a public auction hosted by Sotheby's. Constitution DAO raised $49 million through donations to Ether (ETH) from 17,437 participants. However, on auction day, a portion of the constitution was auctioned off by Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel, whose company owns a hedge fund that, to the disfavor of many retail investors promoting the stock, is short on Gamestop stock.
The ConstitutionDAO dissolved shortly after and compensated its lobbyists. Even if it turns out that the "proletarian" investors will simply lose their chains, it is clear that the "bourgeoisie" will not allow themselves to be liberated so easily.
No. 4. Elon, Tesla and Bitcoin
Cryptocurrencies are on a wild train in theme parks this year, perhaps also because of Tesla boss Elon Musk. In addition to promoting digital meme currencies like Dogecoin (DOGE), Musk's hesitant approach to Tesla's introduction of Bitcoin has created and destroyed a great deal of wealth.
In March, Musk angered investors after announcing that Tesla would accept BTC as payment for consumers to buy its electric cars. Two months later, momentum reversed and became a complete rout for the market after Musk scrapped his plans citing environmental concerns by digging into the network. Then in October, Tesla announced that it would reconsider including BTC as a payment method. All of this, however, has made Musk popular as a helmsman guiding retail investors and crypto enthusiasts through the capital market storm. Recently he was elected to the time of year.
No 5. Unsold NFT from Tupac Shakur
For 29 years, former hip-hop journalist Lawrence "Loupy D" Dotson has held onto a series of photos of famed rapper Tupac Shakur. The photos were taken at the release party of the rapper's debut album "2Pacalypse Now" in 1992 and announced for public auction in November this year in the form of irreplaceable tokens or NFTs. In an interview, Lupi D said, “I also considered photo exhibitions, museums and all sorts of things. NFT is not only about the asset itself, it is also about the history of the asset. I knew that I had to make history there in the public eye."
Previous OpenSea auctions had significant press coverage, including from RollingStone and Fortune.com. The auction lasts for a week. However, none of Tupac's 18 NFT photos sold out. To his dismay, Loupy D removed it from the platform and opened it to private questions. But to be honest, photographers might be asking too much as each NFT section has a minimum bid of 25 ETH ($100,000). Earlier this year, another artist asked for 200 ETH (then $1 million) for a photo of Tupac Shakur taken in a car shooting 14 days before his death. This NFT is not for sale even though the price drops to 10 ETH. Is it just asking too much or is Tupac's popularity lost? You are the judge.
