Settle in, this one is a doozy
Few years ago, this dude went on a one-man revolution against the Brazilian government
This is the story of Daniel Fraga
Few years ago, this dude went on a one-man revolution against the Brazilian government
This is the story of Daniel Fraga
Daniel Fraga was a libertarian/anarchocapitalist (the label is used interchangeably in Brazilian circles) youtuber; one of the first in the Brazilian webspace to do videos on libertarianism, Von Mises, Austrian economics, and bitcoin.
He wasn’t that big a youtuber: after some 5 years creating videos, he only has 100k subs
Still: massively influential in the Brazilian political discussion corner.
Fraga became increasingly choleric against the government, often naming specific politicians for wrongdoings
Still: massively influential in the Brazilian political discussion corner.
Fraga became increasingly choleric against the government, often naming specific politicians for wrongdoings
He named several politicians, in fact, and made furious videos against their (as of yet unproven) corruption
They started hitting him back with slander lawsuits (free speech isn’t really a thing in Brazil)
This only convinced Fraga further that the State is an evil institution
They started hitting him back with slander lawsuits (free speech isn’t really a thing in Brazil)
This only convinced Fraga further that the State is an evil institution
This is when Fraga fully embraced the “taxation is theft” mantra: he made videos explicitly teaching people how to defraud the Brazilian revenue service.
Incentivizing/urging people to commit fraud is a crime in Brazil. His legal problems mounted. He kept making videos.
Incentivizing/urging people to commit fraud is a crime in Brazil. His legal problems mounted. He kept making videos.
The long dick of the law started poking at Fraga’s backside, with court summons being delivered at his door by Brazilian police.
He filmed these interactions. They show a man at the edge of his sanity
He refuses to be served
He filmed these interactions. They show a man at the edge of his sanity
He refuses to be served
Fraga lost the lawsuits and was ordered to pay damages to the politicians; he was also ordered to take down the “offending” videos.
Fraga did neither. He put up MORE videos about the situation despite being ordered by the court not to
Fraga did neither. He put up MORE videos about the situation despite being ordered by the court not to
The government then froze his assets and moved in seized his property
And this is when things got wild.
Remember I said Fraga was a BIG bitcoin proponent? Yeah. He went all in when a bitcoin was worth like 15 bucks.
You know where this is going, don’t you?
And this is when things got wild.
Remember I said Fraga was a BIG bitcoin proponent? Yeah. He went all in when a bitcoin was worth like 15 bucks.
You know where this is going, don’t you?
Fraga had long converted ALL of his financial assets into bitcoin. When the government froze his bank accounts, there was like 5 bucks there — he immediately put up a video taunting them for it.
“That’s all you’re ever gonna get out of me, pigs!”
“That’s all you’re ever gonna get out of me, pigs!”
Now deliberately infringing SEVERAL court orders, and gleefully making videos with this explicit admission, Fraga was on a fast track to jail
Pause
At this point, Fraga is a multimillionaire. No one knows for SURE how much money he made in crypto, but he was a well off guy, and he put ALL of his finances — every penny — into bitcoin back when it was worth less than 20 dollars
At this point, Fraga is a multimillionaire. No one knows for SURE how much money he made in crypto, but he was a well off guy, and he put ALL of his finances — every penny — into bitcoin back when it was worth less than 20 dollars
By some estimates I saw floating around on forums, based on his upper management IT job, the city he lived in, and other indicators, Fraga should’ve put enough into crypto in early 2013 to be worth US$100 million last year
And then… Fraga vanished.
And then… Fraga vanished.
When police moved in to arrest Fraga, he was gone. He continued to post on cryptocurrency forums as recently as 3 months ago, but no one knows where he is.
Feds cancelled his passport this week (perhaps too late?)
Feds cancelled his passport this week (perhaps too late?)
Fraga is (was?) a weird guy. I tangled with him many times, he has a few videos out about me (I was critical of bitcoin and anarchocapitalism as a whole, two things VERY near and dear to him). Naturally he lashed back against me
Notice the very unflattering screenshot he picked
Notice the very unflattering screenshot he picked
As of right now there are no traces of him anywhere. No new posts coming from his known accounts. Feds consider him a fugitive. Crypto circles hail him as a hero. Detractors say his zealotry of liberarianism may have cost him his chance at a normal life
Oh, here’s a pretty comprehensive blog post on the entire Daniel Fraga story
atlasproj.com/blog/daniel-fr…
Hit “translate do English” on Chrome
I might do a video on this. I don’t think there are any English videos on Fraga yet.
atlasproj.com/blog/daniel-fr…
Hit “translate do English” on Chrome
I might do a video on this. I don’t think there are any English videos on Fraga yet.
Alright, by popular request, I’m turning this thread into a video. Stay tuned!
