The man who once had $20 billion in Bitcoin

Michael Mancil Brown was a big name in the early Bitcoin days. Today, his wealth is said to be worth more than $20 billion, but there seems to be nothing left of that.

The early days of Bitcoin are full of exciting stories, and one of them is that of Michael Mancil Brown, known by the pseudonym "KnightMB" on the Bitcointalk forum. He once owned 10 percent of all Bitcoin, was among the richest investors, corresponded with Satoshi Nakamoto, then ran afoul of the law and probably now has: nothing at all. The bizarre story of a man said to have $21 billion in Bitcoin today.

The wild Bitcoin early days

Bitcoin's early days are surrounded by mystery. Much idealism and little capitalism. A small group of enthusiasts exchanged ideas and helped each other through the Bitcointalk forum. One of them was Michael Brown.

He joined in 2010 and started mining on a regular computer. At the time, you earned 50 Bitcoin per block - which today would be worth nearly three million dollars. With few active miners, some were amassing huge wealth. Back then, however, that was not the case. When Brown became active, Bitcoin was not even worth a penny. Mining was a hobby and in the wildest of dreams: a bet on the future.

Messages were preserved between him and Satoshi Nakamoto. Brown later suggested that he had personal information about the mysterious Bitcoin founder. He would know what computer Satoshi was using and "in what part of the world" he lived.

The famous pizza order in May 2010, in which Bitcoiner Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 Bitcoin for Domino's Pizza, Brown commented with: "$600 for a pizza is a good deal, right?" Bitcoin then stood at about six cents. Today, those 10,000 BTC would be worth more than half a billion dollars.

Michael Brown's rise

For Brown, mining became more than a hobby. He soon showed his business acumen. In July 2010, he pitched on the forum the idea of prepaid cards that you could recharge with Bitcoin. According to Brown, he was working "with a local bank" together. That had to be Brown's breakthrough.

He received a check for $12,000 and the task: buy and mine as much Bitcoin as possible. However, investors quickly lost confidence in the project. Brown struck a deal and bought up all the mined Bitcoin: 371,000 pieces for $5,000. "I think I made a smart investment," he wrote on the bitcointalk forum.

His Bitcoin collection made him a millionaire and one of the ten richest Bitcoin owners in the world. At one point, he owned ten percent of the total circulation. By comparison, MicroStrategy currently owns 226,000 Bitcoin, BlackRock 357,000.

The fall of Brown

Brown could have left it at that, but privately the problems piled up. In November 2009, the Secret Service raided his home because he was suspected of stealing customer data from an insurance company. Due to lack of evidence, the case was dropped.

In 2012, police showed up again. Brown was a prime suspect in an extortion case involving then-U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney. According to the FBI and prosecutors, Brown allegedly threatened to publish stolen tax records from Romney and extorted Romney for a million dollars in Bitcoin. The case attracted worldwide attention. It was one of the first major extortions using Bitcoin. Vitalik Buterin, who would later become famous, wrote about it in Bitcoin Magazine. Although Brown maintained his innocence, the courts ruled otherwise. In 2016, he was sentenced to four years in prison. After that, things became quiet around him.

What happened to the 371,000 Bitcoin?

One question remains: where are the 371,000 Bitcoin, now said to be worth more than $20 billion? In June 2012, just before the police raid, Brown wrote on the Bitcointalk forum: "No matter what is said, nothing special happened to the Bitcoins I had. I didn't buy land or islands. I just tried to help where I could. All I have now are old screenshots and empty wallets."

According to him, he gave some away to friends, paid "small debts" and donated a "large part" to WikiLeaks. There is also speculation that he used Bitcoin to cover his legal fees. He was fined $200,000.

Today, Brown seems to have withdrawn from the Bitcoin world. Even his own project, Timecoin, has been on hold for years. What remains is a story that would fit right into a Hollywood movie, a testament to the early, wild Bitcoin days. Although Brown may disagree, as he himself said, "I hope the story wasn't too boring."