John McAfee to run for president in 2020 on cryptocurrency platform

Controversial computer software pioneer John McAfee on Sunday said he has decided to run for president in 2020 in an effort to serve as a public advocate for the cryptocurrency community.

“In spite of past refusals, I have decided to again run for POTUS in 2020,” McAfee wrote on Twitter. “If asked again by the Libertarian party, I will run with them. If not, I will create my own party. I believe this will best serve the crypto community by providing the ultimate campaign platform for us.”

Best known as the founder of McAfee antivirus software, the off-beat tech titan previously ran an unsuccessful bid to represent the Libertarian Party in the 2016 presidential election. The 72-year-old is a prominent advocate for cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, which has experienced rapid growth in recent years while also demonstrating extreme volatility.

Bitcoin is currently trading around the $7,500 level and made a run towards $20,000 in December 2017, according to Coindesk.

McAfee’s tweet announcing his planned candidacy had received more than 200 retweets and 1,400 likes as of Monday afternoon.

“Don’t think that I have a chance of winning. I do not,” McAfee added. “But what truly changes America is not the president, but the process of creating one. If my following is sufficient I get to stand the world’s largest stage and talk to the everyone [sic], as I did last time, to tell the truth.”

Aside from his background as a tech entrepreneur, McAfee drew scrutiny in recent years after he was named a person of interest in a murder case in Belize. Though never arrested or charged with a crime, McAfee left the country and relocated to the U.S.

In 2010, Intel purchased McAfee for $7.6 billion. Prior to that, McAfee had reportedly sold the majority of his shares in the mid-90s.