Bitcoin’s early days were full of opportunities. Back then, people could mine 50 BTC on a regular laptop and build huge fortunes.
One of those people was Michael Mancil Brown, known online as KnightMB. At one point, he was one of the richest Bitcoin owners. But his story took a crazy turn — he got caught in a blackmail scandal involving a U.S. politician, and his Bitcoin fortune disappeared.
Buying Bitcoin for Almost Nothing
Brown got into Bitcoin in 2010, when 1 BTC was worth less than a penny. He was active in online forums and even chatted with Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin.
At the time, Bitcoin wasn’t worth much, and most people didn’t take it seriously. But Brown saw its potential.
He claimed he worked for a company that mined a huge amount of Bitcoin using company servers. Later, when his bosses lost interest, he convinced them to sell him everything for just $5,000.
That deal included 371,000 BTC — meaning he paid just $0.01 per Bitcoin.
At first, it wasn’t worth much. But within a few years, his Bitcoin was worth over $1 million.
A Normal Life — or So It Seemed
To most people, Brown lived a quiet life. His family thought he was just an IT specialist. He even made the local news for building a special bicycle.
But there were strange details. He once claimed to know who Satoshi Nakamoto was. He also hinted that his Bitcoin fortune came from secret banking projects.
The Blackmail Scandal
In 2012, Brown’s life took a shocking turn. The U.S. government accused him of blackmailing Mitt Romney, a politician who was running for U.S. president.
Authorities believed Brown stole Romney’s tax records and demanded a $1 million ransom in Bitcoin to keep them secret.
At first, Brown denied everything. But then, the FBI raided his home and took his computers. That’s when they found something shocking.
Inside the package mailed to Romney’s office, there was a hard drive — and on that hard drive was a photo of Brown’s own cat. Even worse, that same photo was caught on his home security camera.
That simple mistake ruined everything.
Prison and a Lost Fortune
In 2016, Brown was found guilty of extortion. He was sent to prison for four years and had to pay a $200,000 fine.
After he got out, he tried to appeal his case, saying that his friends were the real criminals. But the court didn’t believe him.
By then, his Bitcoin fortune had grown to billions. But what happened to it?
Brown says he lost everything because of legal fees. Some people think he forgot his Bitcoin passwords. Others believe he hid his fortune somewhere.
If he still had access, his 371,000 BTC would be worth over $36 billion today.
But for now, no one knows what happened to his Bitcoin.
The Man Who Lost $36 Billion in Bitcoin was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.