Coinbase Ex-Executive Balaji Exits $1 Million Bitcoin Bet, Why?

Former Coinbase executive Balaji Srinivasan has exited early from his $1 million Bitcoin bet, leaving many in the crypto community wondering why he called it quits. On March 16, a self-proclaimed Tax enthusiast and Hyperinflation doubter made a tweet disagreeing that the US will enter hyperinflation and he bets $1 million.

To make the bet more interesting, Ex-Coinbase executive Balaji replied to Medlock’s tweet and said “I will take that bet.” The terms of the bet were 90 days, however, Balaji was quick to close out on the bet yesterday, about 17 days into the bet.

Balaji Exits Bitcoin Bet Early

On Tuesday, Balaji announced the early exit of the Bitcoin bet saying “The million-dollar bet is now closed out.” According to Balaji, he settled the bet ahead of time and donated even more than he had committed. 

Balaji explained that he gave $1 million to two organizations, including the Bitcoin Core development team at researcher Chaincode Labs, and $500,000 to James Medlock, who won the wager.

The former Coinbase executive said the bet’s goal was to demonstrate that fiat currencies like the US dollar are in trouble and that their troubles would push up Bitcoin’s price. Notably, Medlock’s initial bet was that the US will not enter hyperinflation. 

However, Balaji was eager to make the bet more about Bitcoin rising to $1 million within 90 days due to the rapid devaluation of the United States Dollar. 

At the time Balaji accepted the bet on March 17, Bitcoin’s price was trading at around $28,000. Since then, Bitcoin’s price has only risen by about 10% at most. Aside from the 90 days term, neither Medlock nor Srinivasan disclosed the other terms of the wager.

Balaji Srinivasan is a well-known figure in the crypto world. The ex-Coinbase executive in a video titled “I burned a million to tell you they’re printing trillions,” stated that the reason for the bet was to raise the public alarm about issues with US banks, sovereign debt, and other potential economic problems that the state isn’t telling the public about. 

He explained that he wanted to show in a provable way that there was something wrong with the economy and that he was doing so at his own expense.

Meanwhile, Medlock, in a recent tweet, expressed his amazement that his tweet had turned into a high-stakes bet. He stated that it was just one of those tweets that had popped into his head, and he had sent it in 10 seconds without thinking about it. He also mentioned that he was amazed to think how different his life would be if he had never clicked “Tweet.”

Why He Called It Quits

The reasons for Srinivasan’s early exit from the bet are unclear. And since he still standing on the sentiment that the US could enter hyperinflation, many in the crypto community are only left with speculation on why he called it quits with the Bitcoin bet.

So far, some speculate that Balaji may have had second thoughts about the bet’s terms or the potential risks involved. Others believe that he may have simply wanted to avoid the possibility of losing a substantial sum of money. Regardless of the reasons, Balaji’s early exit has generated significant interest and debate within the crypto community.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) is yet to make any significant move in the past few days. The top crypto has only ranged between $29,000 to $28,000. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin appears to be gearing up for a bullish movement. It has surged by nearly 1% with a market price of $28,250, at the time of writing. 

Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView