Mircea Popescu, an early Bitcoin adopter, has died aged 41.
The crypto billionaire is reported to have drowned on Monday morning (28 June) off the coast of Costa Rica.
According to Teletica.com, Popescu, a Romanian national, was 'swept away by the current and died on the spot'.
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His unexpected death has prompted speculation around what will now happen to his fortune, with claims his family do not have access to his funds.
Alexander Mardar, a research analyst at Crypto Briefing, tweeted to say that following the death of Popescu - as well as the recent death of software developer John McAfee - a 'significant amount of Bitcoin might be lost forever'.
According to MarketWatch, Popescu owned more than $1 billion (£582.6 million) in the cryptocurrency at the time of his death - down from around almost $2bn (£1.4bn) when Bitcoin hit its peak in April this year.
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Popsecu was one of the first people to get involved with cryptocurrency and set up the 'Bitcoin securities exchange' MPEx in 2012.
However, his successes were undermined by his frequent use of racist and sexist language, which resulted in him being dubbed the 'the father of Bitcoin toxicity.'
Popescu was a prolific blogger - he once said of the cryptocurrency: "Bitcoin is fate. It operates completely outside of any human agency."
Referencing Bitcoin's presumed developer, the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, he added: "For all you know about who Nakamoto was... Bitcoin might as well have created itself.
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"The way fate works is quite simple: do the right thing and you're part of it.
"Do the wrong thing and you're in the dark."
Bitcoin - alongside its fellow cryptocurrencies - has taken a nosedive in recent weeks.
Just last week, the price of Bitcoin fell below $30,000 (£21,800) bringing its total losses to more than 50 percent, after it hit its all-time high back in April.
Nicholas Cawley, from trading analysis firm DailyFX, told The Independent: "The crypto market is in freefall with support levels broken with ease...the latest Chinese mining ban is fuelling the move lower but the overall market tone is very negative with little reason to buy the market.
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"It's a guessing game at the moment - will Bitcoin be up or down $10k in a month's time - no-one knows and those who tell you they do know, don't.
"We have seen these moves before, and will likely see them again.
"If you believe in cryptos, and are a holder, your exit strategy has just been pushed further into the distance."
Featured Image Credit: TwitterTopics: Bitcoin, World News