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The $1 million Bitcoin (BTC) bet closed 97% below its price target, with backer Balaji Srinivasan instead opting to donate a total of $1.5 million to three different organizations as a settlement.
On May 2, Srinivasan, the former chief technology officer of Coinbase, stated that the bet was “closed by mutual agreement” 45 days before the due date.
In compensation, Srinivasan paid pseudonymous Twitter user and self-proclaimed “hyperinflation doubter” James Medlock $500,000, donated $500,000 to Bitcoin Core developers, and gave an additional $500,000 to Give Directly, a non-profit charity.
I just burned a million to tell you they’re printing trillions. pic.twitter.com/pX5622rjUO
— Balaji (@balajis) May 2, 2023
“I settled the bet in advance and donated even more than I promised,” Srinivasan tweeted.
“I’m not in the habit of publicly burning a million dollars,” Srinivasan added, explaining that the reason for closing the bet about $970,000 below his price target of $1 million for Bitcoin was because he believes in the “public good” of citizens more. cannot “rely on the public sector […]to let us know when something is wrong.”
“I spent my own money to send a provably costly signal that something is wrong with the economy and that it will not be a soft landing like Powell promises, but something much worse.”
Despite handing out a total of $1.5 million, Srinivasan remains convinced that the American economy will eventually reach a state of hyperinflation. In his opinion, investors will rush to secure the value of their rapidly depreciating dollars in bitcoin, quickly pushing the value of the asset to $1 million.
The high-profile bet was launched on March 17 after a disagreement between Srinivasan and a Twitter user under the pseudonym James Medlock. Medlock first tweeted that he was willing to bet someone $1 million that the US dollar would not go into hyperinflation.
Related: How Bitcoin Can Hold $28k Amid Banking Crisis?
The terms of the wager stipulated that if the price of bitcoin did not reach $1 million by June 17, Medlock would receive $1 million in dollar-pegged stablecoin USD Coin (USDC), as well as an additional 1 BTC. In contrast, if the price of an individual bitcoin is valued at $1 million by the same date, then Balaji can keep 1 bitcoin and $1 million in US dollars.
I will take that bet.
You buy 1 BTC.
I will send $1M USD.
This is ~40:1 odds as 1 BTC is worth ~$26k.
The term is 90 days.
All we need is a mutually agreed custodian who will still be there to settle this in the event of digital dollar devaluation.
If someone knows how to do this… https://t.co/hhPr522PQu pic.twitter.com/6Aav9KeJpe— Balaji (@balajis) March 17, 2023
Bitcoin is currently trading at just over $28,700 and has a market cap of $556 billion, according to Cointelegraph.
