John McAfee is a computer programmer, cryptocurrency enthusiast, sometime U.S. presidential candidate and the founder of McAfee Associates, which developed McAfee, the first commercial antivirus software.
In May 2016, McAfee joined MGT Capital Investments as the company’s chief executive chairman and chief executive officer. The company originally operated fantasy sports and gaming sites but later shifted its focus to cryptocurrency mining and cybersecurity under McAfee. McAfee and MGT ended their relationship in 2018. Both parties claimed the split was “amicable.”
McAfee was hired as the CEO of enterprise blockchain startup Luxcore in 2018. After nine months, Luxcore announced McAfee would resign from his position as CEO. McAfee also acted as a paid promoter for companies holding initial coin offerings (ICOs) until 2018, when he announced he would cease to work on or promote the sales as a result of “threats” he claimed to have received from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In June 2019, McAfee launched Magic, a cryptocurrency trading platform that allows users to trade on multiple platforms using a single dashboard. During the same month, McAfee announced he would launch his own cryptocurrency, Freedom Coin, in autumn 2019. In July 2019, McAfee offered to build a cryptocurrency for Cuba for trade purposes.
Beyond the cryptocurrency industry, McAfee has dabbled in American politics. He ran for president in 2016, first through his self-created party “the Cyber Party” and later through the Libertarian Party, and ran on a platform focused on privacy from the government. McAfee accepted bitcoin donations through a BitPay throughout his campaign. In 2018, McAfee announced he would enter the 2020 presidential race in order to “best serve the cryptocurrency community.”
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