Good day everybody,

Welcome to CryptoGod-1's blog on all things crypto. I recently read an interesting news piece which stated how three crypto billionaires had died within the previous month, and decided to dig a bit more into who they were and exactly how they made their fortunes.

Nikolai Mushegian

It was only on the 28th of October 2022 that the crypto pioneer and co-founder of the blockchain-based decentralized finance platform MakerDAO, Nikolai Mushegian, tweeted that he believed intelligence agencies were going to murder him. He claimed how the CIA and Mossad are running a trafficking entrapment blackmail ring out of Puerto Rico and Caribbean islands, while also stating his ex girlfriend was a spy and he was about to be framed from a laptop she planted before being tortured to death. 

thThat tweet was posted in the early hours of the morning local time for Nikolai, who was based at his $6 million beach house in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Previously he had been posting about fighting “evil” people who were part of the “central banking cartel” while back in September he had tweeted there were three possible futures for him:

1) suicided by CIA

2) CIA brain damage slave asset

3) worst nightmare of people who fucked with me up until now, I am sure these are the only options

To discover that a mere 4 hours after his final tweet the 29 year old had gone for a walk, and his body was discovered in the waves by a surfer. Apparently Mushegian was wearing his clothes and had his wallet on him, while the location he was found in was Ashford Beach, a spot considered so rife with riptides that local hotels warn against ocean swimming.

Many rumours have been swirling on the net ever since his corpse was discovered, with a lot of suspicion associated with his sudden death after his tweets. Some of Nikolai's friends in the crypto community were stunned by his death, stating: 

"Yea so Nikolai is still F*****G DEAD my money is on him being murdered he was found drowned 4 hours after his riskiest tweet ever."

"He had all year to drown randomly or be mugged, so it seems unlikely that his death was unrelated to his tweet...' said Ameen Soleimani, the CEO of Spankchain."

"Some of his paranoia was based on fact."

"He’d discover things. He knew things. Nikolai got bored a lot with the mundane of life. He’d go after things, constantly putting himself in weird positions. It wasn’t for the money."

"He was interested in why things were the way they were and the corruption behind it.'"

Looking deeper at who Mushegian really was when you look behind the famed mask of a crypto billionaire, it is apparent he was a very intelligent but also misfortunate man. He suffered from mental health issues, according to some sources who were close to him. Mushegian also suffered from extreme bouts of paranoia, attributed with his high level of smoking pot. His mental health struggles had led Mushegian to seek psychiatric help at times, but he was all in all a loner who lived alone with his dog following his breakup with the ex girlfriend he claimed to be a spy.

Another source who claimed to be good friends with Mushegian explained how he was a big Nerd but knew not to let anyone bully him. He owned a collection of guns, long guns, handguns, rifles. He liked guns and he knew he wanted to protect himself. There was the potential he knew too much, something which he felt the need to expose as apparently Mushegian always spoke his mind and had no filter. There was after all a lot he liked to involve himself in, to discover and understand things. It was also claimed Mushegian was in communication with federal agencies, possibly including the CIA. While he was a paranoid man, some of that was based of fact because he was the sort of man who would discover things others wouldn't. He knew things. Nikolai got bored a lot with the mundane of life. He’d go after things, constantly putting himself in weird positions. It wasn’t for the money. He was interested in why things were the way they were and the corruption behind it.”

“Nikolai was working toward an incorruptible world and he wanted there to be a separation of banking and the state, just as there is a separation of church and state,” Pierce said. “He felt the world would be better off if central banks couldn’t print money and finance wars.”

The cause of his death may never be fully known, but many have began to conclude it was in fact a suicide. Mushegian’s Midwestern-based family had affirmed that they neither believed the drowning to be accidental or the result of foul play, hinting that it was perhaps self-inflicted. He had been in a downward spiral and that had led his father to come and stay with him at his Condado home. Whatever the cause, it is unlikely we will ever know the truth, but the reports are unanimous, Mushegian was an extremely brilliant and unfortunately troubled man.

The image below of Nikolai is courtesy of nypost.com

Tiantian Kullander

The co-founder of Hong Kong based digital asset company Amber Group, Tiantian Kullander, also known as TT, was reported to have died in his sleep on the 23rd of November 2022, aged just 30 years old. The company, launched in 2017 and with a $3 billion valuation in 2022, posted the news on their website, stating:

"It is with the deepest sadness and a heavy heart that we inform you of the passing of our friend and co-founder, Tiantian Kullander, who passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on November 23, 2022,"

“He put his heart and soul into the company, in every stage of its growth. He led by example with his intellect, generosity, humility, diligence and creativity. TT was a respected thought leader and widely recognized as a pioneer for the industry. His depth of knowledge, his willingness to collaborate and his desire to always help others benefited countless start-ups and individuals.”

"Kullander was a devoted husband, a loving father, and a fierce friend. His passing is a tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with his family. He is survived by his wife and their beloved son. We kindly request that you respect their privacy during this difficult time."

  He will be remembered as a philanthropist, a family man, and a caring and respected individual by those who knew him best, with  a managing partner at Amber Group stating that Kullander was 'the best of us - a rare mix of both a scholar and a degen - always generous with his time, uncompromisingly honest, and a fierce voice in our industry. His legacy will live on.'  

The company is based in in Singapore and its website says it has a presence in Athens, Geneva, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Mexico City, Taipei, Tokyo, Vancouver, and Zurich. Tiantian had also previously worked at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs before co-founding Amber Group, and the news of his death arrived as they were in the process of raising around US$100 million in funding. It sparked theories around the world as to how this man actually died, with blogs, pop-up sites and crypto pages inundated with questions around his death, while some of the most searched topics including “what disease did Tiantian have?” and “Tiantian cause of death”.    

`Speculation continues as back in September Kullander told Bloomberg that it was 'reducing in roles that are lower in priority given market conditions, and increasing headcount in roles that are higher priority', basically meaning the company had cut 10 percent of its staff. It later emerged on November 9th that Amber Group was an 'active trading participant' on the collapsed firm FTX, although they had significantly reduced their exposure to FTX they still had withdrawals which were yet to be processed. It was also clarified that their strict exposure limits on individual trading venues meant it was less than 10% of their overall total trading capital, and more importantly, it does not pose a threat to their business operations or liquidity. Their main product is WhaleFin, a crypto trading platform. 

The image below of Tiantian is courtesy of scmp.com

Vyacheslav Taran

A 53 year old Russian crypto billionaire, Vyacheslav Taran, died on November 25th after it was reported his helicopter, an Airbus H130, had crashed near the French-Italian border in Villefranche-sur-Mer on route to Monaco. He was the sole passenger on the flight from nearby Lausanne in Switzerland adn died along with the pilot, and Vyacheslav was the founder of the Forex Club and president of the Libertex Group. 

HIs business describes itself as a a trading and investing platform which handles some cryptocurrencies as well as foreign exchange, stocks, stock indices and ETFs, and announced the death in a statement which read:

“It is with great sadness that Libertex Group confirms the death of its co-founder and Chairman of Board of Directors, Vyacheslav Taran, after a helicopter crash that took place en route to Monaco on Friday, 25 November 2022.

The Board of Directors of Libertex Group and company employees extend their most heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the Taran family. Vyacheslav is survived by his wife Olga and three children.

Vyacheslav Taran was a fintech entrepreneur and a published author, with long-standing experience in the financial industry. In 1997, he co-founded what was to eventually become the trading and investing platform Libertex."

Interestingly, there was supposedly a second passenger of the flight who cancelled last minute, leading to a number of suspicious and conspiracy theories emerging on Twitter, along with in the British tabloid media, that it may have been an act of foul play which lead to Taran's death. However, the crash investigation is underway there have been no indications that authorities believe foul play was involved. However, the deputy public prosecutor of Nice who visited the crash site claimed that the fault of a third party could not yet be fully ruled out. Taran is also the latest in a long line of Russian billionaires who have died under mysterious circumstances this year. In September alone there were the following deaths:

• 28 September 2022 : Pavel Pchelnikov allegedly shot himself on the balcony of his Moscow apartment.
• 21 September 2022 : Anatoly Gerashchenko died after falling down a flight of stairs in Moscow.
• 10 September 2022 : Ivan Pechorin fell from his boat and drowned at Cape Ignatyev in Vladivostok.
• 1 September 2022 : Ravil Maganov – the chairman of Lukoil, “fell out of a window” in the Kremlin Hospital.

What helps to fuel this speculation is from an unsupported claim by Ukrainian news agency UNIAN claimed that Taran was linked to Russian Foreign Intelligence Service and helped them to funnel funds in and out of the country via crypto. His widow, Olga Taran, refuted these claim and denied any association with Russian intelligence. She revealed he was involved in charities helping Ukrainians fleeing the war before he died, having created a charity known as Pristaniste.me, which is for Ukrainian refugees in Montenegro who had fled their war-ravaged country. Since leaving Russia in 2008 to pursue his business ventures, Olga stated that Vyacheslav had supported the Ukrainian charitable foundation 'Change One Life', which helped thousands of children in Ukraine find new parents since 2014. She wishes to remember him in the correct light and allow for any investigations to conclude before foundless theories are spread around regarding her deceased husband.

'Above all, Vyacheslav was also a loyal and supportive friend, husband and father and we would politely request that his memory is not dishonoured by false information or baseless speculation.'

The image below of Vyacheslav is courtesy of coinmarketcap.com

The three billionaires all died within a month of each other, ranging from the 28th of October till the 25th of November 2022. It is unusual for three men in such positions, all linked to crypto in one way or another, to perish in such a short timeframe. Whether or not any of them were due to suspicious circumstance, or any fallout from the FTX scandal, is mere speculation at this time. What is certain is that the three were innovative and successful business men and should be remembered with the respect they deserve.

Have a great day.

Peace. CryptoGod-1.

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