Cryptocurrency trading hamster Mr Goxx, who made headlines around the world for a profit performance that exceeded major stock markets, has died.
The furry financier - real name was Max - finished with a lifetime trading profit of 19.72 percent, earning his owners nearly a hundred euros in profit.
"We feared this day like no other and are truly shocked for it to happen just now. In deep sorrow, we have to announce the loss of our beloved furry friend," the anonymous human companions of Mr Goxx wrote on Twitter.
"Being with us as a pet for quite a while, he became famous out of nowhere. Mr Goxx has brought joy to people all across the globe and reminded us not to take life too seriously. He shed light into dark moments of pandemic, inflation and many kinds of trouble.
"Mr Goxx showed no signs of serious illness, besides having some kidney issues as a cause of a professional mite treatment in his early days. While having normal amounts of food until Sunday, he then suddenly refused eating and fell asleep peacefully on Monday morning."
The trading rodent was named after MtGox by his German owners, once the world's largest crypto exchange. It filed for bankruptcy in 2014 after 750,000 bitcoin were stolen.
"It seems like most people from our generation see no other chance than throwing a lot of their savings on the crypto market, without having a clue what's going on there," his owners told the BBC when Mr Goxx first became famous.
"We were joking about whether my hamster would be able to make smarter investment decisions than we humans do."
Mr Goxx's office was attached to his cage and he was free to enter it and trade at any time.
Every time he entered, a livestream activated on Twitch and an automated post was sent to Twitter to let his followers know a trading session had started.
A combination of software scripts, computers and microcontrollers made trades based on his actions, essentially making every trade a random shot in the dark.
His hamster wheel became the method by which he selected which cryptocurrency to trade. As he ran, it scrolled through various different types of cryptocoins with whichever one was selected when he stopped then purchased or sold.
Two tunnels nearby acted as 'sell' or 'buy' triggers, with the trades automated based on which one he ran through.
And while his profit margin was impressive, his owners were quick to point out that actual traders shouldn't be using Mr Goxx for pointers.
"This content is for entertainment purposes only. Investments shown here are not financial advice," each tweet read.
Meanwhile the future of Goxx Capital, the company that ran the investments, is up in the air.
"For us humans behind Goxx Capital, the situation is hard to grasp and questions about a possible continuance of the project are not relevant to us at the moment (for now, we will leave everything as is)," they wrote.
"Thank you and rest in peace, Max (aka Mr Goxx). You will be missed, and your memory will live forever on the blockchain."
