He created antivirus software. He hacked police radios. He ran for president. He lived on a yacht surrounded by prostitutes and guns. And he claimed to be a Bitcoin billionaire who hadn’t paid taxes in a decade.

John McAfee’s story was stranger than fiction, and nearly four years after his alleged death, his legacy—and Twitter account—are still active, keeping alive the myth of the most chaotic mind in crypto history.

The Rise: From Apollo Missions to Antivirus Millions

John McAfee was born in 1945 in England and raised in Virginia. After discovering his father’s body—possibly after pulling the trigger himself, depending on who you ask—John buried his trauma in brilliance.

In the 1960s, he worked on NASA’s Apollo missions, and in the 1980s, he developed McAfee Antivirus—after locking himself in his apartment and creating software to kill the world’s first computer virus. He gave it away for free, betting that businesses would eventually pay for it. They did.

By the early ’90s, 67% of major corporations were running McAfee Antivirus, and John had made $100 million.

Then he walked away.

The Fall: Belize, Paranoia, and Becoming a Fugitive

John used his fortune to buy mansions, cars, helicopters, and surveillance compounds. He relocated to Belize, where he built a fortified private estate and reportedly dabbled in experimental drug labs, weapon testing, and espionage.

Eventually, the government of Belize suspected him in a neighbor’s murder. John fled the country with his girlfriend—who had originally been hired to assassinate him.

He sent spyware-laced laptops to government officials, claiming to have hacked Hillary Clinton’s office. He faked a heart attack to dodge Guatemalan police, and publicly declared, “If they catch me, they’ll kill me.”

The Crypto Phase: Rebirth as a Bitcoin Billionaire

When Bitcoin began surging in popularity, McAfee saw a second chance. He claimed to be a Bitcoin billionaire, pumped altcoins, and endorsed sketchy crypto startups.

He famously tweeted that Bitcoin would hit $500,000, later raising the target to $1 million by the end of 2020. He said he’d “eat [his] own d*ck on national television” if it didn’t.

When it didn’t, he claimed the prediction was a “ruse to onboard new users” and called Bitcoin “ancient technology.”

He added:

“I was the 6th largest Bitcoin miner in 2016. If you think Bitcoin has value, then you understand nothing.”

Politics, Exile, and Death—Maybe

John ran for U.S. president twice under the Libertarian Party, focusing on privacy, anti-surveillance, and drug legalization. But when the U.S. indicted him for tax evasion, he vanished again—this time on a yacht sailing the Caribbean.

He was eventually arrested in Spain in 2021, where he was found dead in his cell. His last tweet said:

“Know that if I hang myself, it will be no fault of mine.”

His $WHACKD tattoo, paired with a cryptic black “Q” posted to his Instagram after his death, only added to the rumors that he faked his death.

Legacy: Chaos, Crypto, and the Myth of McAfee

McAfee didn’t just build antivirus software. He built a cult of personality. He challenged the surveillance state, turned crypto into performance art, and warned of privacy’s slow death.

Nearly four years after his reported death:

• Crypto is still alive.
• President Trump is back in office.
• John’s Twitter account is still posting.

Some men disappear. Others become a myth. John McAfee did both.

Hidden Insight

McAfee’s chaotic life reveals the extreme edges of crypto culture—where innovation and paranoia blend into performance, myth-making, and rebellion. His legacy remains a warning and inspiration for a decentralized world wrestling with its identity.