John Galton, an American anarchist and Bitcoin enthusiast, was murdered by gunmen at his home in Acapulco, Mexico.

For the most part, cryptocurrency and violence rarely intersect. Hollywood loves to show people soliciting hitmen on the dark web via Bitcoin, but any violence associated with crypto usually comes in the form of a robbery when the victim is lured into a setup by the promise of buying or selling crypto with cash. This is why it’s such a shock hearing that a Bitcoin enthusiast was shot dead by gunmen at his home in Acapulco, Mexico.

Violent Murder

The murder victim was known as John Galton, an anarchist who fled the United States to escape drug charges with his girlfriend, Lily Forester. The pair, both in their 20s, made their way to Acapulco where they joined an anti-establishment community. It should be noted that it is not known if these are the couple’s real names. John Galton could be a play on John Galt, the famous character from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

The attack first came to light when Lily Forester posted a video on social media describing the attack, crying out, “I really need help! Somebody, please come.” She went on to say that the armed criminals went after Galton and his friend, Jason Henza, aged 43.

Henza was shot in the armpit, leg, and hand but was able to make it to a private hospital. He then checked out of the hospital later that day. Galton was not so lucky and died.

Anarchist and Bitcoin Enthusiast

Both Galton and Forester were known anarchists and prominent members of the expatriated anti-establishment community in Acapulco. They were both advocates of marijuana and cryptocurrency. In a video, the pair said they fled the United States as they faced up to 25 years in prison for condensing marijuana into potent extracts, which Forester supposedly used to combat chronic pain.

It appears that Galton was an organizer of the Anarchapulco conference. This meeting is an anarcho-capitalist event, and one of the core topics for discussion was cryptocurrency. It also seems that he was part of the Anarchaforko Fork, a similar-themed offshoot of the Anarchapulco conference.

According to some that knew the couple, the reason for the violent murder is due to drugs. It’s been said that the couple sold cocaine and marijuana, thereby bringing them into conflict with the drug cartels. Violence has hit all-time highs in Mexico due to the ongoing conflict between the cartels battling each other as well as the government. Acapulco has the highest murder rate for a city in the entire country.

In an old video, Galton addressed the high crime in Acapulco, saying:

I’d say it’s safer than any big city I’ve lived in in the U.S., like way safer than Chicago or something like that.

In actuality, Acapulco has more than double the murder rate of Chicago, something Galton and Forester found out the hard way.

What do you think about the murder of the Bitcoin enthusiast and anarchist? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of the Daily Mail and Pixabay.