A 23-year-old individual involved in the crypto industry has made a striking gesture by unfurling a flag with the Bitcoin logo at the summit of Mount Everest, which stands at an elevation of 8,849 meters. Dadvan Yousuf, as announced on May 23, successfully reached the peak of the world’s highest mountain on May 20. Accompanied by sherpas and fellow climbers, he proudly displayed two flags: one representing Kurdistan and the other featuring the BTC logo.
Interestingly, other climbers at the summit were curious about the memecoin pepe and inquired about the best place to purchase it, even on the highest point on Earth. Yousuf’s spokesperson revealed that the sherpas showed great enthusiasm for the concept of Bitcoin and were visibly delighted.
The purpose of Yousuf’s expedition was to draw attention to the global inequality in access to financial education. Born in Iraq and currently based in Dubai, the Bitcoin enthusiast’s reported net worth was over $300 million as of January 2022.
Over the past two decades, Everest has faced an increasing problem of overtourism. With the summit now being showcased on social media, many inexperienced climbers or first-timers attempt the climb without proper preparation for the harsh conditions.
Yousuf stated that it took approximately 50 days to reach the summit, allowing him to acclimatize to the thin air. While more than 7,000 climbers have successfully scaled the peak since Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic feat in 1953, over 300 individuals have tragically lost their lives in the attempt.
“I fell down the Hillary step twice and came close to death several times during the expedition. I also nearly lost my fingers to frostbite. I owe a great deal to my sherpas who assisted me,” Yousuf shared with Cointelegraph.
Although crypto enthusiasts have not previously attempted feats as lofty as Everest, some have promoted digital assets during climbs. In 2023, a climber partially financed his journey to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania with Bitcoin as part of a campaign to raise awareness about financial literacy. In 2018, three individuals placed a Ledger wallet at the summit of Everest, although the wallet was not visible in the videos provided by Yousuf to Cointelegraph.
As of the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin stands at $67,879, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro. The cryptocurrency reached its all-time high of $73,738 on March 14.
Magazine: Get Bitcoin or die tryin’: Why hip hop stars love crypto.