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The price of cryptocurrency Ethereum dropped dramatically following news of its creator’s death. One problem: he wasn’t dead.
A post on 4Chain claimed Vitalik Buterin — creator of blockchain technology Ethereum and currency Ether — died in a fatal car accident. Following news of what was later confirmed to be a hoax, the price of Ether went from $317 to $286 in moments, before bottoming out at around $216.
Buterin dispelled any notion he was dead with a selfie. In it, he’s holding up blockchain-based data mined from days after his “death,” to prove was around. Still, this wiped out about $4 billion in Ethereum’s market value.
Ether has since recovered — it was trading at around $300 at the time of writing. While this was likely not the sole reason for the drop, it certainly didn’t help....
A case in crisis PR and the challenges of social media.