Late Antivirus Pioneer John McAfee Once Wagered His Own Penis on a Bitcoin Bet

Posted on: June 24, 2021, 12:30h. 

Last updated on: June 24, 2021, 03:01h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

John McAfee was reported dead yesterday at the age of 75 after an apparent suicide. The announcement came just hours after a Spanish court approved his extradition to the United States to face tax charges that could have put him in prison for decades. 

John McAfee gambling casino cryptocurrency
John McAfee, pictured above, is dead at the age of 75. The troubled former antivirus tech giant is said to have committed suicide in a Spanish jail. (Image: Getty)

McAfee made his fortune — once an estimated $100 million — by founding the antivirus company that bore his name. He sold the software organization in the early 1990s and led an eccentric, vice-filled life from then until his death.

Over the decades, he was accused of murder, drug dealing, involvement with prostitution, tax evasion, money laundering, and possession of illegal firearms. He hopped from one locale to another, stints including time in Belize, Guatemala, Tennessee, and Spain. 

But it was his last gamble that eventually led to his death. 

Seemingly immune to risk-taking, US authorities charged McAfee with running pump-and-dump schemes related to the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. US authorities allege that McAfee presented himself as an impartial investor, but was being paid tens of millions of dollars by the digital coinage networks. 

An Unusual Bet

In July of 2017, John McAfee notoriously made a bet few men would make. He staked his penis on the outcome of a wager.

McAfee promised that he would eat his own male sex organ if the price of bitcoin was not at $500,000 by 2020. In November of 2017, he doubled down, claiming he would do so if bitcoin didn’t hit $1 million. 

Of course, bitcoin never came anywhere near $1 million. He conceded in July of 2020 that he didn’t fully believe it would.

“Did I believe that number? Of course not!” McAfee said in early 2020, admitting that the bet was just a “ruse” that “worked.”

Bitcoin’s all-time high price was realized in April of 2021 when it reached $64,829.14. That’s $935,170.86 short of where bitcoin needed to be in order to save McAfee’s reproductive organ. 

Cryptocurrency Casino

Online gambling with slot machines and table games is only legal in five US states. As a result, many gamblers seeking a wager from the comfort of their own homes have turned to offshore internet casino networks. 

Since the emergence of bitcoin, and the countless subsequent digital cryptocurrencies that have popped up since, crypto casinos have become popular. The untraceable digital blockchain-powered sites provide anonymity to both players and offshore operators. 

One such site is Wavesbet. Though it really never took off or found a wide audience, in 2019 the platform announced a partnership with McAfee. The iGaming site said McAfee would “bring advancements for the platform based on his vast experience in the blockchain industry.”

Tax Evasion Charges Dropped

With McAfee’s death, the US will drop the tax evasion charges against him. But McAfee certainly didn’t dispute that he did not pay federal taxes.

In 2019, McAfee tweeted that he had not filed a tax return for eight years. He argued “taxation is illegal,” and that he “paid tens of millions already and received Jack S**t in services.” 

His lawyer in Spain, Javier Villalba, said McAfee’s suicide came as a shock, and he had no inclination that his client was considering taking his own life. 

“I had constant telephone contacts with him,” Villalba told Reuters. “At no point had he shown any special worry or clue that could let us think this could have happened.”