Wesley Pessano shot dead at the wheel of his Porsche in Brazil

A young cryptocurrency trader who flaunted his wealth on Instagram is shot dead in Brazil at the wheel of his Porsche.

According to local police, the homicide may have been due to a dispute between several competing groups that invest in virtual currencies.

Wesley Pessano Santarem, a 19-year-old cryptocurrency trader and social media star, was shot dead last Wednesday in São Pedro da Aldeia, municipality of Rio de Janeiro, local media report.

The man was on his way in a Porsche Boxster to the municipality where he was born and raised to get a haircut, when he was shot at from another vehicle. As a result, he suffered a fatal injury. In addition, a witness to the incident was injured and was taken to a nearby hospital. 

According to the local police, the murder may have been due to a dispute between several competing groups investing in virtual currencies. In this context, local media recalled that last July investors of a company in the region even staged protests against the suspension of withdrawals from a business offering fixed income in bitcoins. 

On Instagram, where he had more than 133,000 followers, he used to post photos with luxury vehicles, wads of cash and screenshots of bitcoin transactions. He aspired to position himself as a cryptocurrency trader who could help young people gain financial independence [from parents] at 18, as the description of his account on that social network says. On his YouTube channel, Pessano Santarem called himself the 'King of Backtesting', indicating that he was observing the reversal of trends in market trading.