John McAfee #64

Biography:

Formerly a pioneer in cybersecurity with the launch of McAfee Antivirus software in the 1990s, John McAfee has since walked a long, strange and notorious path in his life and career. Since returning to the U.S. from a storied stay in Central America (notably Belize), McAfee has focused on two ventures: running for President as a Libertarian candidate and founding/advising a range of cryptocurrency ventures.

In November 2017, he made the bold prediction that Bitcoin would reach $500,000 by the end of 2020, or else he would eat his own penis.

John McAfee's 2019:

McAfee started the year supposedly running from the IRS on tax-related charges (yet unconfirmed by the agency), living on a boat in international waters along with his wife and four campaign workers of his 2020 presidential campaign. McAfee has continued to engage with his social media followers on topics of politics and cryptocurrency.

In October, he launched McAfeeDEX, a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange built on the Ethereum public blockchain. When the legal battles of Craig Wright started to form around his claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto, McAfee said he would reveal the identity of the anonymous Bitcoin inventor once and for all before later retracting for fear of a lawsuit. He has also doubled down on his notorious BTC price prediction, saying the currency would reach $1 million by the end of 2020.

What Cointelegraph expects for 2020:

Nothing is ever boring when it comes to McAfee. With the launch of his decentralized exchange, we may see some developments on that front. Notably, owners/operators of decentralized exchanges have been targeted by the SEC in the past, so McAfee branding himself to the exchange could put him under regulatory scrutiny.

We also expect him to ramp up his presidential campaign as the year progresses with periodic videos and commentary on global affairs. As far as his BTC price prediction goes, we don't expect him to win that bet despite the bulllish enthusiasm.