Under House Arrest, This 'Bitcoin Millionaire' Is Now Basically Just Drinking And Watching Netflix

WikimediaCharlie Shrem

Charlie Shrem, the 24-year-old CEO of BitInstant who was charged with money-laundering criminals' Bitcoins on Silk Road recently, described what he's doing now that he's under house arrest and cannot leave home without a judge's permission: Drinking and watching Netflix are two of his activities, he tells CoinDesk.

Shrem cannot leave his parents' house in New York without court permission 48 hours ahead of time: "I can't go anywhere. It sucks," he says:

"My friends are here a lot and I'm getting a lot of free stuff. People are sending me a lot of alcohol gifts, which is good. I'm trying to make the best of it - I'm learning some new languages, I'm working out a lot every day and watching Netflix - a lot. Just trying to keeping my spirits up,"

"I'm just trying to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in the space. My brain is here for the picking and a lot of people are calling me to see what I think about their business and I'm brutally honest with them," Shrem explained, adding:

"Just bring me a six-pack and I'm yours for an hour."

Shrem also makes the case that BitInstant - which enables people to transfer money to bitcoin exchange accounts - was actually several steps removed from Silk Road, the anonymous web site where criminals traded Bitcoin for drugs.