Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way: Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar’s brother, Roberto Escobar, is launching a new cryptocurrency called “Dietbitcoin.” It’s a clone of Bitcoin of the kind that can take mere minutes to create, with no changes or improvements whatsoever. But Escobar Inc. is nonetheless hawking virtual coins for $2 USD each now, and $1,000 in later rounds of the crowd sale.
Now here’s the good shit. Along with Dietbitcoin’s launch came a 280-page book, part memoir and part manifesto, titled “Pablo Escobar’s Dietbitcoin: The True Story by Roberto Escobar.” Roberto allegedly authored the book—when I reached Escobar Inc. for an interview the company said he was not available, but CEO Olof Gustafsson told me over the phone that Roberto wrote it.
In it, Roberto claims that he had a close encounter with a US government agent posing as the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. This encounter led Roberto to conclude that the US government created Bitcoin and will one day crash the market by selling all of Nakamoto’s stashed bitcoins.
The veracity of this tale is highly suspect; Roberto Escobar is a well-known eccentric who once claimed to have cured HIV with his knowledge of horses. The book mentions email interactions with John McAfee, and we’ve reached out to him to confirm this account but have not yet heard back.
Regardless, it’s an absolutely ripping yarn. Let’s take a closer look shall we?
Screengrab: Roberto Escobar/Escobar Inc
Dietbitcoin’s story begins, as the book tells it, with Roberto sitting in his deceased brother’s old house, thinking, “what has happened to the world? What has happened to the world?” the next morning he learned about cryptocurrencies in a news article and called up two associates—going by El Silenco and El Coneja. Roberto said he was interested in creating his own cryptocurrency. Weeks later, he got a call from El Conejo.