A 23-year-old crypto user plans to show off an orange flag with the Bitcoin (BTC) logo at the summit of Mount Everest to raise awareness for global financial literacy.
In a Feb. 28 X post, Dadvan Yousuf announced plans to climb the highest mountain in the world sometime between April and May, showing the BTC flag at the summit before taking it back to base camp. He said the trip was intended to highlight the “global disparity in access to financial education.”
Yousuf reportedly purchased roughly $340 worth of Bitcoin in 2011, later investing in Ether (ETH) and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Born in Iraq and with a business now based in Dubai, his reported net worth was more than $300 million as of January 2022.
Overtourism at Everest has become an increasing problem in recent years. With the summit being featured on social media for the first time, many first-timer climbers come unprepared for the harsh conditions. Eighteen people died attempting to reach the top of the world in 2023, many of them in the “death zone,” hiking at altitudes above 8,000 meters.
Trash, in particular, has also become a problem on Everest, with climbers discarding oxygen tanks, food, camping supplies and feces en route to the top. Yousuf said his plan to reach the summit at 8,849 meters included taking everything back down with him.
“I’m committed to leaving no trace, including no flags,” Yousuf told Cointelegraph. “Preserving Everest’s pristine environment is crucial to me. I’ll ensure minimal impact and only leave footprints behind.”
Other climbers have made attempts to promote cryptocurrency on mountaintops. In 2018, three crypto enthusiasts announced that they planned to place a Ledger wallet at the Everest summit, but one of the sherpas accompanying the trio died on the descent. In 2023, a climber financed his trip to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania partly with Bitcoin as part of efforts to raise awareness for financial literacy.
At the time of publication, Bitcoin had briefly surged to a 2024 high price of $64,000 before dropping under $61,000.
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