Crypto Stories: The Late John McAfee Recounts How He First Discovered Bitcoin

British-American businessman John McAfee talks about his crypto history and how he discovered BTC. Cointelegraph YouTube Subscribe

From the Cointelegraph archives, John McAfee tells his crypto story and looks back on his very fascinating life.

Early in life, the computer programmer landed a job with the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration, also known as NASA, and worked on the world's first weather satellite. There he learned about computer security and people's concerns about unauthorized actors gaining access to private data.

McAfee also shared that it made all its money not from the famous antivirus software "McAfee", but from other projects. He explained:

"People know me from McAfee, but no, it wasn't my greatest success. It was something insignificant. It was my future business, to which I did not attach my name, which taught me and made all my money."

In 2011, McAfee's friends urged him to read the Bitcoin (BTC) white paper published by its pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. The computer programmer was impressed by the mathematical power of Bitcoin and saw the potential for global change in the digital asset.

According to McAfee, his entry into crypto began as Chairman and CEO of MGT, which was the sixth largest BTC mining company in the world, valued at $800 million. However, McAfee noted that it eventually pulled back when BTC sank after hitting highs.

Related: Crypto Stories: How One Entrepreneur Raised $10 Million for Her Startup During a Bear Market

The company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, which McAfee said was a warning shot — an attempt to silence him and a threat that he would be destroyed if he didn't. McAfee continued the story:

“First they tried to get me back to America when they called a grand jury. I found out about it ahead of time, so we left the next day for Florida. yacht with Janice, myself, four big dogs and seven of my staff and off we went to the Bahamas.”

McAfee said they eventually made it to Cuba and then to the Dominican Republic, where they were arrested before getting off the boat.