What will happen to the $2.6 billion worth of Bitcoin that Yevgeny Prigozhin had?

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Last Updated on 6 November 2023 by CryptoTips.eu

Ever since Yevgeny Prigozhin, the infamous leader of the Wagner mercenary army, passed away in a plane crash this week, the internet is wondering who will take control of his crypto wallet. After all, the man was (according to persistent rumors) the fifth largest Bitcoin hodler in the world. His wallet held some $2.6 billion in crypto.

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Plane crash

Earlier this week, just as the Republican presidential candidates were about to begin their debate, just as former President Trump was about to appear in court in Georgia for a legendary ‘mugshot’, something happened that simply blew away all other news stories.

From deep within Russia we were informed that the private jet of Yevgeny Prigozhin, boss of the Wagner mercenary army, had ‘crashed’ near Moscow. The conspiracy theories about who was behind it quickly spread, as did the question of what would happen to his Bitcoins.

After all, internet savants have always claimed that Prigozhin started buying crypto right after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, because he expected a fall in the value of the Russian ruble.

According to data from Bitinfocharts, this is in line with the currently fifth largest crypto wallet, an anonymous wallet that started buying Bitcoin since February 1, 2022.

It’s worth noting that the infamous uprising involving the Wagner group in June 2023 saw a surge in stablecoin purchases among ordinary Russians who believed the ruble would collapse if Putin was ousted.

In the end, that did not happen, the Kremlin made a deal with Prigozhin, and two months later the man is dead. So who owns those Bitcoins now?

Jeroen Kok

Jeroen is one of the lead copywriters on Cryptotips.eu and discusses all recent events in the crypto market. This includes news updates, but also price analyzes and more. He developed his passion for cryptocurrency during the bull run in 2017. He has learned a lot since then. The combination of cryptocurrency and creative writing is perfect for Jeroen and an excellent way to share his knowledge with a wide audience. Find me on LinkedIn / [email protected]
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