The eccentric McAfee, who promised that he will “eat my d–k” if the bitcoin price fails to reach $1 million by 2020, wrote on Twitter that he must cease his public support for ICOs due to pressure from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“Due to SEC threats, I am no longer working with ICOs nor am I recommending them, and those doing ICOs can all look forward to arrest. It is unjust but it is reality,” he wrote. “I am writing an article on an equivalent alternative to ICOs which the SEC cannot touch. Please have Patience.”
As CCN reported, the SEC has warned celebrities that they may incur enforcement actions for promoting fraudulent ICOs and violating other securities regulations including disclosure requirements for paid endorsements.
McAfee, through his ICO advisory service, claims that he charged $500,000 per tweet as well as $100,000 per reply. His website, meanwhile, says that tweets cost $105,000 across the board.
“Obviously, people feel that it is worth it,” McAfee said on Twitter. “Statistically, each tweet averages over $3 million in revenue for my clients – a 600% return.”
Last month, an ICO endorsed by McAfee found itself in hot water after evidence emerged that the project had plagiarized its website content and whitepaper from another project.
More recently, McAfee revealed that he intends to run for president in 2020, either in the Libertarian Party or through a political party of his own creation. He attempted to garner the Libertarian nomination in 2016 but was beat out by former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, who received nearly 60 percent of the primary votes. McAfee finished second with 8.9 percent, ranking him just above Austin Petersen, who is currently running for a US Senate seat in Missouri and accepts bitcoin donations.
As of press time, McAfee had apparently gone back on his promise not promote any more ICOs, as his most recent tweet advertises an announcement from a blockchain project called Docademic.