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Man became a trillionaire overnight - but it ended up a glitch

Man became a trillionaire overnight - but it ended up a glitch
Is Crypto a New Risk for Problem Gambling?
CoinDesk

Could you imagine becoming a trillionaire overnight? Well, that's exactly what happened to one man who spent just $20 (£17.50) on cryptocurrency to wake up and discover he was the richest man on the planet.

Last year, Chris Williamson from Georgia invested a small sum of money that led him to have a newfound trillionaire status.

The nurse recalled the moment he woke up and saw $173,277,357,372,090 - which is around 173 trillion dollars - in his bank.

Naturally, Williamson was shaken beyond belief, saying: "I looked at it again and then I fell out of my bed and ran to my desk to try and figure out what was going on."

Like most good things, it had to come to an end...

His trillionaire status was unfortunately nothing more than a glitch in the system. His account was frozen by Coinbase, and his trillions soon became a distant memory.

While Williamson admitted he's trying "to find humour in it", he confessed "it's depressing".

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Earlier this year, Crypto.com also found themselves in an unfortunate blunder, after accidentally sending an Australian woman $10m. The company, backed by Matt Damon, initially intended to send a $100 refund to Thevamanogari Manivel in May 2021.

However, the the firm "erroneously transferred" $10,474,143 to Manivel, who divided the money among six other people, including her daughter and her sister.

"Extraordinarily, the Plaintiffs allegedly did not realise this significant error until some seven months later, in late December 2021," James Elliot, the Victorian Supreme Court judge, wrote in a court ruling.

According to News.com.au, the woman used the money to purchase a mansion for her sister in Melbourne, according to a report.

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