If the mystery linked to Bitcoin's founder is not enough, late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar's brother has spiced it up further for those who care - he claims the top cryptocurrency was created by the U.S. government. And he has launched an alternative for it - dietbitcoin.
A hard fork of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency with the symbol DDX launched by Roberto Escobar is offered at a 96 percent discount - at only $2 versus its original price of $50 - in a pre-ICO round 1, the initial coin offering's website said.
The DDX coin is offered in three rounds with the crowdsale totaling 1 million. The pre-ICO round 1 offers a total 300,000 coins; round 2 offers 300,000 coins at $100 each; and the ICO will offer 400,000 coins at $1,000 each.
The total supply at launch is approximately 1.8 million and the possible supply is 21 million.
The Next Web news website reported the launch and confirmed Roberto's investment firm, Escobar Inc's, involvement in the scheme.
In a pdf version of a book available for download on the dietbitcoin.org website, Roberto said, "I am the first person in the world, Roberto De Jesus Escobar Gaviria, to publicly come out and claim that Bitcoin was created by the American Government, and I am not going to be the last person to say this."
"...when the CIA founds out that the world knows about this, the CIA is going to sell all of their coins, and they will destroy the value of Bitcoin," he added.
By launching dietbitcoin, Roberto said he is initiating a rebellion against the U.S. government-created Bitcoin. He claimed that the American government is tracking all cryptocurrency transactions, but they will never be able to monitor those involving dietbitcoin.
Roberto, who used to serve as Pablo's accountant in the notorious Medellin cartel, also called Ethereum, Tron, and Ripple scams.
He did not spare Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's cryptocurrency Petro, either. "Maduro's coin is actually a token, and I am sorry to tell you, but it is also a scam," Roberto said.
Dietbitcoin is created to last longer than others, he claimed.
The book also has pictures of what is supposedly the pages from the passport of Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto, who Roberto said, is simply a fictional figure created by the U.S. government.
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