A few years ago, this case came back to my mind—the disappearance of Sylwester Suszek, the co-founder of BitBay. The man was 34 years old when he simply vanished in 2022. Known as the Bitcoin king in Poland, he was last seen at a gas station after a business meeting.

What fascinates and simultaneously disturbs me about this case: the police found no trace. The surveillance cameras at the scene weren’t working on the day Sylwester Suszek disappeared. Suspicious, or?

His sister Nicole didn’t give up. She continued investigating and discovered something disturbing—his phone was active four days later, logged into a network, and moved along a highway. Then came these messages. An audio recording that sounded like Sylwester Suszek but somehow distorted, electronic. The person demanded Bitcoin worth about 12 million PLN. Along with a text message: No joke, a photo of the body will arrive in a week.

Nicole didn’t transfer the money. But the messages didn’t stop—threats, mentions of mutilation, pleas to return home for Easter. The whole situation is Kafkaesque.

To this day, the case remains open. Nicole Suszek faces threats herself as she continues searching for answers. A crypto founder disappears, and years later, we still have no answers. Sylwester Suszek remains missing.