A $1 million BTC price bet of 28,520 BTC closed at a price 97% below the target price and its backer Balaji Srinivasan instead donated a total of $1.5 million to three different organizations compared to donations. have chosen to donate
On May 2, Coinbase’s former chief technology officer, Srinivasan, said the bet was “made by mutual consent” 45 days before him.
In compensation, Srinivasan paid $500,000 to his pseudonymous Twitter user and self-proclaimed “hyperinflation suspect” James Medlock, donated $500,000 to Bitcoin Core developers, and another $500,000 to nonprofits. I donated to the charity Give Directly.
“I settled my bet fast and even donated more than I promised,” Srinivasan tweeted.
Srinivasan added that he “doesn’t have the habit of burning a million dollars publicly,” adding that he “believes in the public good” so his target price per bitcoin is about $970,000 below $1 million. I explained why I ended the bet. Citizens can no longer “rely on the public sector […] to let us know when something goes wrong.”
“I spent my own money to send a provably costly signal that there’s something wrong with the economy, and that it’s not going to be a ‘soft landing’ like Powell promises — but something much worse.”
Despite donating a total of $1.5 million, Srinivasan believes the US economy will eventually go into hyperinflation. In his view, investors are scrambling to secure the value of the rapidly declining dollar in Bitcoin, which will quickly push the asset’s value up to his $1 million mark.
This high-profile bet was launched on March 17 following a disagreement between Srinivasan and his pseudonymous Twitter user James Medlock. Medlock originally tweeted that he was betting $1 million that the US dollar would not go into hyperinflation.
The wagering requirements are that if the price of Bitcoin he does not reach $1 million by June 17, Medlock will bet $1 million on the dollar-pegged stablecoin USD Coin
, plus He is conditioned to receive 1 BTC. Conversely, if the price of one Bitcoin were valued at $1 million on the same day, Balaji could hold $1 million in 1 BTC and USDC.
Bitcoin is currently trading for just over $28,700 and has a market capitalization of $556 billion according to Cointelegraph data.