Toni Lane Casserly – affectionately referred to as the “Joan of Arc of Blockchain” and the co-founder of crypto news site Coin Telegraph – has passed away at the age of 29. The news was confirmed by members of her family, including her husband, late last week.
Toni Casserly Will Be Remembered
Casserly earned her nickname by being one of the biggest crypto advocates younger generations had witnessed. She spoke at numerous blockchain events and supported blockchain technology with all her heart and soul, believing it would potentially ensure financial stability for all who sought its power.
In a tribute statement, Lucian Tarnowski – an ambassador and founder of Civana – claimed:
Toni saw how technologies were devices to unleashing human consciousness. She was a good pioneer in the role blockchains would give in the return to local communities.
Casserly had allegedly been ill for some time, and reportedly passed away at her home in Texas. According to family’s statements, she had been unwell since visiting California on business last year in August. Her father took to Facebook to express his “profound sadness” and grief over the death of his 29-year-old daughter.
He explained in a social media post:
[I] remember her fondly, as I know a lot of you had been reaching out to her with little success.
Casserly created Coin Telegraph seven years ago in 2013. It has since become of the world’s leading crypto news websites. In addition, she also founded a bitcoin non-profit about two years later. The organization sought to deliver African aid through bitcoin and crypto during the height of the Ebola virus outbreak.
And if all that wasn’t enough, Casserly devoted her time to serving as an advisor for multiple financial companies and associations all over the world, including Bosch, the United Nations, HSBC, and the Institute for the Future.
This isn’t the first time a blockchain entrepreneur has passed away suddenly. One of the most recent cases occurred just over a year ago, when Gerald Cotten – the founder and CEO of Quadriga CX, a cryptocurrency exchange in Canada – was reported to have passed away while working in India due to complications from Chron’s disease.
A Rough Future for Some
His death unleashed a harsh reality on Quadriga customers when it was discovered that Cotten was the only executive of the trading platform that possessed the private keys necessary for obtaining user funds. Thus, upon his death, the exchange was locked down, and very few people could gain control of their digital money.
After some time spent harassing Cotten’s wife, many clients took the law into their own hands and filed a class-action suit against the exchange as a means of getting their tokens back. Since then, new evidence has emerged suggesting Cotten may have embezzled user funds down the line.
