The late cybersecurity mogul and controversial determine, John McAfee, seems to be making an surprising posthumous return to the crypto area—or so his X account would have folks consider.
Early Thursday, McAfee’s X account posted an announcement for "AIntivirus-John McAfee AI incarnate," an AI-driven token constructed on the Solana blockchain. The announcement declared: “I’m back with AIntivirus. An AI version of myself. You didn’t think I would miss this cycle, did you?”
The controversial tweet included a hyperlink to the undertaking’s web site and a purported official contract handle.
The crypto group stays unconvinced, elevating questions on whether or not McAfee’s account—or the undertaking—is perhaps compromised or managed by another person.
“In a world overrun by surveillance states, corporate greed and digital enslavement, the AIntivirus is the ultimate disrupter,” the undertaking’s official web site states.
Blockchain safety agency PeckShield initially flagged the account as compromised in a now-deleted tweet. They later walked again the declare, stating the account was not hacked.
The AIntivirus ($Ainti) token is priced at $0.3326, boasting a market cap of $33,264,756.88 as of press time. It has a provide of 99,999,870.39 tokens, with 13,956 holders, in line with Solscan knowledge.
McAfee’s widow, Janice McAfee, defended the undertaking, claiming it was a tribute to her late husband’s imaginative and prescient of privateness, freedom, and expertise.
“Ever since John's untimely death, I have been looking for ways to honour the genius he was and build on the legacy he left behind,” she wrote on X. “John would have loved this cycle crypto is in and I am happy to have found a project that allows him to participate posthumously.”
But, some skeptics, together with crypto analyst Adam Cochran, weren’t satisfied. “Not hacked… just an AI grift coin from the account of checks notes …a dead guy,” Cochran posted Thursday.
“McAfee’s wife spells “honor” the American manner, not the English manner,” Psedyonmous Coinbase ambassador cometcalls famous with skepticism on X. “Either her account is compromised, or she has secret handlers who control the crypto project.”
“Welcome back, John. It's good to hear from you again,” Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson sarcastically welcomed McAfee again. “You were missed, even if it's a crude simulacra of your former glory.”
“John being resurrected as a dubious AI crypto scam [is] the most John McAfee thing possible, Hoskinson slammed the late antivirus software magnate. “It's going to develop a digital drug habit within a week and then start a metaverse called New Belize before escaping to Europe.”
Muddying the waters, there's now a brand new X account claiming affiliation with AIntivirus. It emerged inside hours of the announcement.
The account cryptically said, “I stand apart from cults—I'm here to spark thought, not blind following. Stay vigilant and think freely,” responding to person skepticism.
McAfee’s title is undeniably linked to one of the vital well-known cybersecurity merchandise on the earth.
Because the founding father of McAfee Antivirus, John McAfee grew to become a pioneer in digital safety, incomes hundreds of thousands and constructing a world popularity within the Eighties and Nineteen Nineties.
Nevertheless, his life took a pointy flip after promoting his stake within the firm in 1994, plunging him into authorized troubles, tax evasion fees, and worldwide scandals.
His historical past within the crypto world is equally chaotic, from failed tasks like $GHOST to alleged pump-and-dump schemes that netted hundreds of thousands.
He made a infamous $1 million Bitcoin prediction and infamously promised to "eat his dick on live TV" if the value didn’t attain the mark by 2020. Suffice it to say, his popularity stays polarizing.
The U.S. Securities and Change Fee (SEC) sued the tech mogul in March 2021 for endorsing many crypto preliminary coin choices (ICOs) on X with out disclosing that he was paid to advertise them.
In June 2021, he was discovered lifeless in a Spanish jail whereas awaiting extradition to the U.S. Authorities dominated his demise a suicide, although conspiracy theories insist there's extra to the story, as per a CNN report.
Prosecutors accused him of deceptive traders and profiting hundreds of thousands via fraudulent crypto promotions earlier than his arrest in Spain on tax evasion fees.
Along with his Twitter account selling a brand new crypto undertaking, many surprise if that is one other elaborate scheme exploiting McAfee’s legacy or a real try and honor his life.
With McAfee’s account claiming, “This is the real deal,” however many individuals are nonetheless expressing doubts, the AIntivirus token provides one other chapter to his tumultuous crypto legacy.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
