What Happened to the Bogdanoff Crypto Claims? Brothers Battle COVID-19
The Bogdanoff brothers have been involved in several controversies over the years, including claiming that they invented Bitcoin. What happened to the Bogdanoff crypto claims?
Dec. 29 2021, Published 2:02 p.m. ET
French TV personality Grichka Bogdanoff died on Dec. 28 from COVID-19 and his twin brother, Igor, is reportedly still hospitalized with the virus. The brothers have been involved in several controversies over the years, including claiming that they invented Bitcoin. What happened to the Bogdanoff crypto claims?
News of Grichka’s death was reported in the French publication Le Monde. He and Igor have been hospitalized since Dec. 15 after they contracted COVID-19. Reportedly, neither brother was vaccinated against the virus.
"Surrounded by the love of his family and his loved ones, Grichka Bogdanoff died peacefully to join his stars," his family wrote in a statement sent to Le Monde by his agent.
Who are the Bogdanoff twins?
In France, the Bogdanoff brothers became known for their popular science program Time X, which aired from 1979 to 1989. In the early 2000s, they also hosted the science fiction show Rayons X.
Both of the brothers have doctorate degrees from the University of Burgundy. Grichka’s Ph.D. is in mathematics, while Igor’s Ph.D. is in theoretical physics.
How are the Bogdanoff twins connected to the crypto world?
The Bogdanoff brothers are television personalities, producers, and scientific essayists, but they're mainly known in the crypto world for their claims that elusive Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto actually got the idea from them.
In a July 2021 interview with French television program L’Heure des Pros, the twins claimed that they discussed blockchain and crypto asset ideas with a Japanese scientist named Soïtchiro Shimoda, who they think was associated with Bitcoin’s inventors, reports Bitcoin.com.
“Igor and I, as mathematicians, were able to participate in the elaboration of some of the [Bitcoin] source code, especially the ‘predictive code,’” Grichka told L’Heure des Pros.
The twins also claim that Nakamoto gave them two “ancient Bitcoins” in 2008.
A Bogdanoff meme jokes that the twins control the crypto world.
For years, there has been a running joke in the crypto world that the Bogdanoff brothers can control the cryptocurrency market with just one phone call. The joke grew out of a 2017 meme that features Igor holding a cellphone and saying “Dump It.”
The twins said in the July interview that they were going to sell the meme as an NFT, but there haven't been any reports that it actually happened.
The Bogdanoff twins have been at the center of other controversies.
The Bogdanoff twins’ crypto connection is just one controversy surrounding the brothers. In what's now known as “The Bogdanov Affair,” the twins wrote a series of theoretical physics papers published in reputable scientific journals in 2002. The papers were considered “nonsensical” and a “deliberate hoax” that critics felt were really intended to point out weaknesses in how physics journals choose what to print.
Later, the French CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research) reported that the Bogdanoffs’ theses didn't have any scientific value. The brothers attempted to sue the CNRS but failed.
The Bogdanoff brothers have denied plastic surgery claims.
The Bogdanoff twins are also known for their odd facial appearance. Although they both look like they have had extensive plastic surgery, they deny ever going under the knife.
