Bill Gates was never a fan of cryptocurrencies. However, recently he has been the victim of a scam involving a fake Bitcoin airdrop.
The scam dates back to a few weeks ago and involved the founder of Microsoft, who was unknowingly involved in live streams on several Youtube channels promoting fake Bitcoin giveaways.
The common feature of these channels is that they all had the word “Microsoft” in their name. The live streams were in fact published by Microsoft US, Microsoft Europe and Microsoft News, to name a few. These are unofficial accounts that broadcasted a real Bill Gates speech dedicated to startups and dating back to 2019. Unfortunately, the video is complemented by the announcement of a giveaway by Microsoft dedicated to all cryptocurrency fans. The invitation is to scan a QR code, send between 0.1 BTC and 20 BTC to get back up to 50 BTC.
Clearly, this is a scam, from which Microsoft has distanced itself. Even YouTube took action to block the channels that offered the fake giveaway, specifying that no official Microsoft channel had been hacked.
The relationship between Bill Gates, Microsoft and cryptocurrencies
On several occasions, Bill Gates has indicated that he is concerned about the volatility and speculation inherent to cryptocurrencies, although he had previously praised them as an attempt to combat poverty. According to his statements, he does not own Bitcoin and has not changed his mind about digital currencies.
Nevertheless, his philanthropic foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has partnered with Ripple for sending money to the poorest parts of the world. And this seems to be the most important endeavour between one of the richest men in the world and the innovative crypto world.
In contrast, Microsoft is carefully examining the technology behind cryptocurrencies. Recently, the company founded by Bill Gates has filed a patent to mine cryptocurrencies by exploiting the activities of the human body. This would be a revolution in the world of mining.
