Two well-known Bitcoin (BTC) figures accept resorted to a painfully public Twitter commutation to settle an argument over a $20,000 unpaid bet.

The heated contend, which is ongoing, revolves around a pledge which investor Ronnie Moas made in 2022.

Moas redistributes Ross Ulbricht BTC

If Bitcoin was non worth $28,000 by the end of last yr, Moas said he would donate the lump sum to FreeRoss.org, the charity working to gratuitous jailed quondam Silk Road owner, Ross Ulbricht. The bet was made with Vinny Lingham, CEO of blockchain identity startup Civic.

With BTC/USD trailing at $vii,200 on Jan. 1, 2022, Lingham asked Moas to confirm he had made the payment as promised. Moas then surprised past proverb he would no longer honor his delivery.

The tone swiftly became unfriendly, with Moas describing Lingham as a "f*cking bastard" and demanding he explain the near-full drop in the price of Civic's native cryptocurrency, CVC.

"I volition keep my word and distribute $20,000 in 2022 to organizations highlighted at my… website," he replied, explaining he would instead split up up the FreeRoss funds between up to five charities of his choosing. In an ironic twist, Moas advised Lingham:

"Read my concluding three posts ... and the ones preceding from the last 24 hours y'all f*cking jackass ... stop making a fool out of yourself in a public forum."

Moas claimed he had "more than a dozen reasons" not to send money to FreeRoss.

Bitcoiners rally to replace funds

Responses predictably sided with Lingham, every bit Moas had withal reneged on the original terms of the wager.

As the argument gained traction, other Bitcoin figures, including What Bitcoin Did podcast host Peter McCormack, began pledging to supervene upon the lost funds out of their own pocket. FreeRoss then thanked McCormack and his fellow participants, who each pledged $1,000, for their donations.

Further efforts proceed to take place on the Bitcointalk forum, where users are selling collectible items.

They include an altered Venezuelan bolivar notation, emblazoned with the heading "Banco de Bitcoin" and an paradigm of Charlie Shrem in sunglasses. Shrem, who is at present free, was besides implicated in the highly controversial takedown of Silk Route past United States government.