Autumn Radtke, the 28-year-old CEO of of First Meta, an upstart company where users can buy and sell virtual currencies, such as Bitcoins, was found dead by local police in her Singapore apartment on February 28. The cause of death was an apparent suicide, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
"I was informed by the Singapore police about her death. The cause of death is still under investigation," said Douglas Abrams, director of First Meta.
"The First Meta team is shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of our and friend and CEO Autumn Radtke. Our deepest condolence go out to her family, friends and loved ones. Autumn was an inspiration to all of us and she will be sorely missed," a statement read on the company's web site.
Forbes reported in 2012 that First Meta received $466,000 in funding from Sunnyvale, California-based accelorator Plug and Play Tech Center and Singapore's National Research Foundation.
Early on in her career, the 28-year-old Radtke worked in business development for Geodelic Systems, a Los Angeles-based platform company, as well as with Xfire, an Internet gaming community, according to her Linkedin profile. Radtke also worked as a freelancer with Apple to bring cloud-computing software to John Hopkins University and Los Alamos, as reported by The Daily Mail.
On the same day Radke was discovered in her Singapore apartment, the Asian country declared Bitcoin and other similar electronic currencies as illegal, The authorities "warned its citizens not use or invest in them. A central bank statement late on Thursday did not spell out penalties for those who disobeyed the instruction, but it said that virtual currencies are linked to money laundering and other illegal activities," also reported by The Daily Mail.
Radtke was remembered fondly by her colleagues:
"Autumn Radtke offer [ed] a rare combination of business smarts and grace," Brendan Kenney wrote regarding her time at Geodelic Systems.
"She possess [ed] an amazing ability to connect with people in a real way, building the type of confidence, trust and relationships that open up doors and get business done."
Bitcoin, the crypto-currency, has faced many setbacks in recent months. China banned its banks and payment systems from handling bitcoin, for instance, while Thailand also put a 'blanket' ban on its use, according to news reports.
(The anonymity of the decentralized digital currency lends itself to allow black market style to take place).
"Companies that transact in Bitcoins need to be aware of the existing (and still developing) regulatory matrix, and establish appropriate compliance systems. From a regulatory standpoint, Bitcoin and related products may be subject to anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws administered by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network," as reported by The New York Law Journal.
Flexcoin, a Bitcoin bank based in Canada, also said it was closing down after losing the currency "worth about $600,000 to a hacker attack enabled by flaws in its software," The Daily Mail also reported. Flexcoin said on its web site that all 886 bitcoins stored only were stolen on Sunday.
One Bitcoin, while constantly fluctuating in value, is worth approximately $650. Its collapse came after Mt. Gox, one wthe world's dominant bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy protection protection in Japan, sayin it had lost about 850,000 bitcoins worth $400 million due to hacking.
