Famed altcoin advocate John McAfee has put up a $500 reward in the Ethereum-based stablecoin DAI for the best original photo taken in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown.
The sea-bound computer programmer asked for pictures of vacant highways and cities from people who are still able to leave their homes for essential supplies and activities. McAfee tweeted:
“Those able to leave your homes during quarantine ... (to buy food or get medical care, etc.) ... Take photos of interesting aspects of your vacant cities, highways, etc. $500 in DAI crypto paid for the best photo (Chosen by @theemrsmcafee next week) Just drop photos here:)”
Submissions began to flood McAfee’s feed within minutes of the tweet. One Twitter user posted this pic of a herd of goats prowling around a quiet neighborhood:
(Source: Twitter, @freethemkitties)
Another user exemplified the extent of the coronavirus lockdown with this picture of a vacant Grand Central Station in New York during rush hour.
(Source: Twitter, @m3digital)
The latest figures show 92,743 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in New York alone. The East Coast of the United States appears to have been hit hardest by the spread of the virus. This photograph of the Las Vegas Strip shows that the reaction to the lockdown has been similar across the country, however. Nevada has 1,484 confirmed cases thus far.
(Source: Twitter, @larry_buckeye)
The winning photograph will be selected next week by John McAfee’s wife, Janice McAfee — aka @themrsmcafee.
Stability, DAI and dangerous tweets
When asked by Cointelegraph why he had selected the dollar-pegged DAI, McAfee’s answer was brief. He replied:
“Stable coin.”
DAI is the stablecoin that underpins the decentralized finance application MakerDAO. The stability of DAI was brought into question in early March, when the crypto market suffered one of its worst crashes in recent memory.
The sudden drop wreaked havoc with MakerDAO’s Ethereum-backed loans, when the price of ETH dropped 54% in just nine days. Between January and March of 2019, the price of DAI fluctuated between $0.96 and $1.08, in line with fluctuations in the wider market.
Regardless of the payment method, McAfee appears to be testing the venom of Twitter’s censors, who have already been proactive in silencing what they deem to be dangerous or misleading posts.
In March, McAfee had a tweet of his removed, which stated: “Coronavirus cannot attack black people because it is a Chinese virus.”
How will Twitter’s censors react to McAfee monetarily incentivizing photography trips during the coronavirus lockdown?