Cryptocurrency meets cosplay as Bitcoin millionaire Erik Finman made a 10-year-old boy’s dream come true by funding the building of a working Doctor Octopus cosplay.

Editor’s note: We are aware that news of this first broke in 2018, however, in honor of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’s Oscar win – and the fact that a working Doc Oc suit is just that cool – we decided to run with it.

One of the largest growing segments in geek fandom is cosplay. Originating in Japan, cosplay is when fans create and wear costumes based upon their favorite characters from movies, TV shows, books, and comics. Anime and superheroes are probably the largest components of cosplay, which can be amply seen at any geek-themed convention. One 10-year-old boy wanted to have a special cosplay built in time for London ComicCon, which is where Bitcoin millionaire Erik Finman enters the picture.

Buying Bitcoin at the Right Time

Erik Finman is a Bitcoin millionaire and only 19-years-old. He got involved in cryptocurrency when his grandmother gave him $1,000 when he was 12. He used the money to buy bitcoins, which were selling for a mere $12 each at the time. During the bull run of late 2017, his 401 bitcoins were worth over $5 million but are now worth just $1.5 million today.

Finman famously dropped out of school due to being miserable, with one teacher telling him to “drop out and go work for McDonalds as I’d never amount to anything more in life.” Guess it’s fair to say that Finman has had the last laugh in this regard.

Building the Doctor Octopus Suit

As for where Bitcoin meets cosplay, 10-year-old Aristou Meehan has hypermobility issues, but he sincerely wished to have a working Doctor Octopus cosplay. For those who don’t know one of Spider-Man’s deadliest villains, Doctor Octopus has four mind-controlled mechanical tentacle arms that come out of a backpack.

The mechanics behind a working outfit are enormous, not to mention expensive. However, Finman was touched by Aristou Meehan, saying:

He came up with this idea — because he’s a huge comic book fan, a huge Spider-Man fan — of having his own Doctor Octopus suit. He said that would solve my problems. I thought that was such a smart idea and sweet. For me, it would have been so great if someone had helped me at that age. So I felt like a kindred spirit in a lot of ways. Right now, it’s like a concept car. But I’ve been talking with a lot of people who are interested in doing more with it.

Finman then hired Ben McKee and the team at OneOff Effects to build the suit. Rear-mounted microcontrollers control the arms, which are powered by eight motors. The arms are controlled by the user’s two middle fingers on each hand, which manipulate controllers in the gloves that are worn, allowing the user to control all four arms. The arms can grab onto and lift objects.

The project was completed in time for the London ComicCon. Erik Finman and the design team are extremely happy with the results, and they are looking at the possibilities that such mechanical arms could do for a person. Personally, I would probably be lazy and use mine for holding and opening snacks while watching TV.

What do you think about Erik Finman funding construction of a Doctor Octopus suit? Would you want one for yourself? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of YouTube/whaamfx, Wikimedia Commons/GabboT, and Investopedia.