Despite the fact that hacking is a well-known term in the cryptocurrency industry, frauds, phishing attempts, and stolen accounts raise the question of how much cryptocurrency some of these hackers have. Former blackhat hacker Gummo online claims to have amassed around $7 billion in Bitcoin (BTC).
Hacker claims to be the world’s 369th richest person, with $7 billion in Bitcoin
Gummo has little information available online, despite a slew of enthusiastic comments and posts about his talks on the 3.18 million subscriber-strong Soft White Underbelly YouTube channel. It could either be on purpose, or it could be a sign that his exaggerated claims should be taken with a grain of salt.
According to a recent interview with Soft White Underbelly published on March 12, Gummo claimed to have more than $7 billion worth of Bitcoin in his possession, which equates to about 150,000 individual coins.
With his collected wealth in the main digital asset, the hacker would be the 369th richest person in the world, according to Forbes’ world’s billionaire list of the richest in 2021.
Gummo made his first YouTube appearance on the Soft White Underbelly channel, where he discussed his upbringing and how he became a hacker for over 30 years. Gummo explains how he overcame these obstacles by developing a love for computers and eventually developing a set of hacking skills, which he exploited for nefarious purposes during his adolescent years to survive.
Gummo said during the interview that he owned more than $7 billion in Bitcoin, which translates to 179,863 Bitcoins at the current price of little under $39,000 as of March 15.
“I’m quite wealthy. Yeah, I do not have to work if I don’t choose to. I have over seven billion dollars worth of Bitcoin.” he said.
Gummo said he is doing his current hacking to help the little guy, rather than to have a career or make money, and emphasized the importance of protecting people from the internet.
Crypto criminals stole $2.8 billion in 2021, an average of more than $7 million per day, while the US Department of Justice (DoJ) confiscated and recovered over 94,000 Bitcoins worth $3.6 billion stolen from crypto exchange Bitfinex in 2016, in what was the year’s largest-ever crypto theft.
Gummo has quickly become a beloved character, thanks to his backstory that involves a horrific past, the loss of loved ones, and a meaningful transformation from the dark side of hacking to assisting people online.
The most current video has 14,000 likes and an almost unlimited number of positive comments, whereas the first video had 144,000 likes with the same sentiment in the comments.
Also read: Cryptocurrency adoption to increase in South Korea
