In 2014, Jiang “Friedcat” Xinyu, a 28-year-old Bitcoin miner, left his home and was never seen again. Known for his brilliance and eccentricity, Friedcat’s disappearance remains one of the most intriguing mysteries in the cryptocurrency world.
Born in 1986, Friedcat was a child prodigy. He was admitted to the University of Science and Technology of China at the age of 14 and earned a PhD in computer science by 15. His early achievements set the stage for his future endeavors in the tech world.
In 2012, Friedcat founded a Bitcoin startup, raising $100,000 to build one of the first ASIC miners by selling shares of his company for 0.1 BTC each. His ASIC miner was designed to be the most powerful Bitcoin miner ever created. Friedcat’s low profile and unkempt look, characterized by loose t-shirts and shorts, endeared him to his investors.
By 2013, Friedcat controlled approximately 20% of Bitcoin’s hashrate. Shares that initially sold for 0.1 BTC were now worth 5 BTC, a 5,000% increase. The company was mining over 1,000 BTC a day, and some investors made over 300,000 BTC. Friedcat himself reportedly earned 200 million RMB in just the first three months. Li Xiaolai, China’s biggest Bitcoin HODLer with over 100,000 BTC, endorsed him, encouraging others to invest in ASICMiner “with your eyes closed.”
Friedcat married his long-time girlfriend, Wang Xian, whom he met during college. They bought a house and were planning to start a family. However, their happiness was short-lived.
In 2014, ASICMiners began to experience significant issues with insufficient heat resistance, causing the miners to catch fire and explode. Friedcat’s luck further deteriorated when a partnership with a hosting site to store 8,000 ASICs went awry, and the miners were embezzled by his partner. His signature phrase, “don’t panic,” became a meme as the situation worsened.
Friedcat’s partners allegedly took over 500,000 GPUs and over 100,000 ASICs to mine for themselves. Friedcat went overseas to find new partners but stopped responding to emails. By 2015, ASICMiner was failing. Friedcat made his last appearance on Bitcoin Talk in January, and a few days later, he stopped paying shareholders. Speculation ran wild, with some believing he had committed suicide or been murdered.
Investors scoured his online activity and found his last act was to review a documentary about the history of America, leading to speculation about whether it was a clue. Others wondered if Friedcat had committed suicide, but an old friend who saw him a week before his disappearance said he “looked no different” and showed “no signs” of distress.
A Caixin reporter interviewed Friedcat’s mother, who confirmed she hadn’t seen him since his disappearance. His family, friends, and business partners eventually moved on. Bitfountain shut down, investors founded competitors, and his wife divorced him.
What became of Friedcat, the man who mined 400 million RMB worth of Bitcoin? Today, his disappearance remains one of Bitcoin’s biggest unsolved mysteries. The story of Jiang “Friedcat” Xinyu is a cautionary tale of the volatile and unpredictable nature of the cryptocurrency world.
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