To say that John McAfee is a unique character is an understatement.
He made millions being one of the earliest cybersecurity experts in the world. Even today, his McAfee software protects hundreds of millions of computers globally.
His support of cryptocurrency is equally well known. He claims to be staging a run for President of the United States while in exile for tax evasion from the same country. The reason behind this is not to win but to get publicity for cryptocurrency and help promote the idea of decentralization.
Late last year, he released the McAfee exchange which is a decentralized exchange which will allow anyone to create a token (digital asset). The site will have no KYC or AML which is a requirement of most governmental entities.
The project is in beta right now and set to go fully live at some point in the Spring.
Perhaps McAfee's most famous proclamation was his assertion that the price of Bitcoin would be $1 million by the end of 2020. He was so confident in the claim that he bet his "manhood" on it. If Bitcoin did not achieve that end, he stated he would eat his "[manpart] on live television".
Was this a statement of his belief in the power of Bitcoin?
As it turns out, it was just another promotional ploy by one who is known to be a paid promotor of crypto projects on Twitter. He is now backing off the claim about Bitcoin's price by admitting it was just a ruse.
McAfee also appears to be backing off his support of Bitcoin. He now is asserting that it is old technology whereas the cryptocurrency has advanced.
He uses the analogy to the Model T, pointing out that the car industry is not dominated by that vehicle since technology advanced past it.
The addition of privacy and smart contracts has really advanced the capabilities of cryptocurrency from the original release of Bitcoin. The best-known cryptocurrency is still trying to figure out scaling issues and how to operate at more than just a few transactions per second.
Whatever the future of Bitcoin, it seems that McAfee once again proves that he is a master promotor yet lacks integrity with a lot of what he says.
Last year, the controversial figure came under attack for promoting crypto projects that ended up being absolutely worthless. Details emerged where it was revealed that McAfee was paid large sums of money to promote these projects without any screening of them.
While it is absurd for people to follow the advice of someone like this without doing their own research, people do that. The likes of McAfee often causes a great deal of damage by their actions.
Ultimately, Bitcoin is big enough that McAfee will have little influence no matter which direction it goes.
The fact he is walking back from his very public proclamation shows how little merit he should be given. From an entertainment standpoint, he is very valuable.
As to the advice he doles out, it might be best to take a deeper look and verify all he is saying.
His track record seems to warrant that.