Apple Inc (TIKER: APC.FWB) co-founder Steve Wozniak has revealed that he has become a victim of scam and lost seven Bitcoins (TIKER: BTC.EXANTE), the Economic Times reports.
While addressing the audience at Economic Times of India’s Global Business Summit this week, the tech millionaire expressed his trust in the digital coin:
“Bitcoins to me was a currency that was not manipulated by the governments. It is mathematical, it is pure, it can’t be altered.”
However, he pointed out the shortcoming of the blockchain technology and revealed that he himself was scammed for his Bitcoins.
“The blockchain identifies who has Bitcoins… that doesn’t mean there can’t be fraud though. I had seven Bitcoins stolen from me through fraud. Somebody bought them from me online through a credit card and they cancelled the credit card payment. It was that easy! And it was from a stolen credit card number so you can never get it back,” said Wozniak.
Talking about his investment experience on cryptocurrencies, Mr. Wozniak said that he did not buy Bitcoins as an investment, but rather, he bought them as an experiment.
He explained: “I had them so that I could someday travel and not use credit cards, wallets or cash. I could do it all on Bitcoin. I studied which hotels and facilities accepted Bitcoin… it’s still very difficult to do so. I also tried to buy things online and trade Bitcoin online.”
He bought eight when they were worth $700 each, selling all but one. At their height in 2017, the sale would have made around $120,000.