Bryan Johnson: when the longevity visionary could have chosen only Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies

If life choices had taken a different turn, anti-aging entrepreneur and magnate Bryan Johnson might today be remembered as one of the pioneers who linked Bitcoin’s fate to global digital commerce. At 47, the man with an extraordinarily youthful face recounts how this alternative reality existed concretely in plans from 2013, when Braintree—the payment platform he founded—was about to become the official gateway for cryptocurrency transactions through a partnership with Coinbase.

The story of what could have been begins a decade earlier, when Bryan Johnson revolutionized the mobile payments industry. Founded in 2007, Braintree grew at an extraordinary rate, with annual increases of 4,000%. In 2012, the acquisition of Venmo solidified the company’s position, attracting the attention of PayPal, which bought it for $800 million. From this transaction, Johnson personally earned $300 million, adding to a declared net worth of about $400 million.

How Bryan Johnson Could Have Fully Dedicated Himself to Cryptocurrencies

At that pivotal moment, when cryptocurrencies still represented an uncharted frontier for mainstream adoption, Bryan Johnson was developing a vision that could have charted a completely different course for his life. “If I hadn’t sold Braintree, I could have dedicated myself entirely to cryptocurrencies,” he states during a meeting at Token2049 in Singapore, where he participates in 2024 events alongside his team.

The deal under discussion between Braintree and Coinbase in 2013 represented one of the earliest integrations between traditional financial infrastructure and digital assets. “We were among the first in the industry to adopt cryptocurrencies,” recalls Bryan Johnson. “We were very optimistic about Bitcoin’s future and the entire ecosystem, and then we sold shortly after. But undoubtedly, there is a parallel reality where my entire career is built around cryptocurrency and its development.”

This decision to sell marks the point where Bryan Johnson diverges from the crypto path to embrace a new obsession: the pursuit of biological immortality. Thus begins a journey that would transform him into the most recognizable face of the global anti-aging movement, leaving behind the purely technological-financial dimension to explore the frontiers of human biology.

The Network School: Bryan Johnson and the Ambition to Build a Cryptographic State

Paradoxically, although he abandoned his career solely tied to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, Bryan Johnson has never fully severed ties with that community. The most tangible proof emerges in Singapore, where he participates in the launch of The Network School, an initiative co-founded with Balaji Srinivasan, former CTO of Coinbase.

This institute represents a fascinating bridge between two seemingly distant worlds: the libertarian technology of cryptocurrencies and scientific research on longevity. Hosted in the controversial Forest City, a settlement built on an artificial island in Malaysia, the three-month program welcomes 150 libertarian entrepreneurs and capitalists focused on technology.

The initiative reflects Srinivasan’s decade-long dream of establishing a “Network State”—a physical embodiment of libertarian values of the internet, supported by a financial system based on Bitcoin and principles of self-governance. Bryan Johnson, while cautious in fully representing Srinivasan’s vision, recognizes the value of bringing together independent thinkers eager to build alternative realities.

“If you look at the history of civilization, innovation rarely comes from established institutions. It emerges from the margins, from spaces where small groups find the right structured environments,” he explains. This principle guides both the creation of The Network School and previous crypto-utopian projects like Liberland, Crypto Utopia, and Satoshi Island—all attempts to establish micronations outside traditional authority control.

Prominent figures such as Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum founder), Brian Armstrong (co-founder of Coinbase), Naval Ravikant (co-founder of AngelList), and venture capitalist Fred Wilson have all expressed support for the idea of the Network State. The convergence between the crypto-libertarian movement and longevity research is no coincidence: it represents a harmony of intent among those seeking to reimagine human society.

Bitcoin and Longevity: Bryan Johnson’s Philosophical Parallel

One of the most fascinating observations during the Singapore events is the conceptual parallel Bryan Johnson draws between Bitcoin and the Don’t Die movement, his project to help humanity extend life. Although it may seem like a strange connection, the two universes share a common philosophical root.

“Bitcoin fundamentally rejects inflation, and I fundamentally reject aging,” Bryan Johnson states. “Both of us reject slow death—Bitcoin through the erosion of wealth via inflation, and I through biological degradation.”

Srinivasan elaborates on this parallel during a public discussion: “Bitcoin aims to prevent the state from slowly draining your wealth through inflation. And Don’t Die aims to prevent the state from slowly draining your health, passively accepting aging and death.” Both movements represent a collective rejection of external inevitability—be it economic or biological.

This connection doesn’t surprise Bryan Johnson entirely, though he admits he can’t fully explain why crypto-tech billionaires are so fascinated by longevity research. Roger Ver, nicknamed “Bitcoin Jesus,” has even considered cryopreservation as a way to avoid legal consequences. Vitalik Buterin has publicly stated that death is a humanitarian disaster comparable to two world wars every two years, adding that aging is solvable like any other engineering problem.

“I think people who have already solved numerous difficult engineering problems in tech and cryptography see aging as another obstacle to overcome,” hypothesizes Bryan Johnson. “For them, it’s not a fatality but an equation to solve with the right investments and dedication.”

From Blueprint to Don’t Die: How Bryan Johnson Is Revolutionizing the Concept of Aging

While many know Bryan Johnson mainly for his controversial experiments—including plans to receive plasma transfusions from his teenage son—the Braintree founder firmly believes that the most significant benefits come from much simpler disciplines: careful nutrition, systematic exercise, and quality sleep.

The Blueprint project embodies this philosophy. Bryan Johnson spends millions annually to maintain a team of about 30 specialists—nutritionists, MRI experts, cardiologists—who optimize every aspect of his biological routine. His diet follows a precise protocol, includes 35 different exercises, and prioritizes sleep so much that he finishes his last meal at 11 a.m. to allow his body to stabilize before nighttime rest.

The measurable result is impressive: Bryan Johnson has calculated that his biological aging rate is 0.64, meaning he celebrates his birthday every 19 months instead of every 12. “Many people don’t want this to be true,” he notes, “because it would mean facing the uncomfortable reality that they’re not doing these things for themselves.”

However, while discipline is crucial, Bryan Johnson does not deny the revolutionary potential of emerging drugs. He has been taking 1,500 mg of metformin daily for four years, based on research suggesting the drug’s ability to reverse brain aging in monkeys. He speaks enthusiastically about Ozempic (semaglutide), claiming it significantly reduces the risk of death from any cause and “opens a new era of human self-modification.” He also markets a complete supplement package under the Blueprint Stack brand, spreading his approach globally.

The Don’t Die movement, of which Bryan Johnson is a central figure, attracts an increasing number of followers from crypto and tech communities. “The overlap between the Don’t Die community and my principles is natural and deep,” he explains. However, some observers have noted aspects reminiscent of religious movements: core principles include “Not dying as an individual,” “Not harming others,” and “Not dying as a species”—a triplet some compare to traditional faith structures.

Artificial Intelligence as the Key to the Future According to Bryan Johnson

If anti-aging and Bitcoin are Bryan Johnson’s most visible obsessions, artificial intelligence occupies an even deeper space in his philosophical cosmology. He is not primarily interested in current AI systems but in what they will become.

Blueprint, his biological optimization system, relies on AI algorithms to control recommendations for lifestyle modifications based on health metrics. Similar to longevity researcher José Luis Cordeiro, Bryan Johnson believes that systems like Google’s AlphaFold will accelerate the search for revolutionary treatments, though he warns they are not a universal panacea.

His vision of superintelligence is informed by fascinating thought experiments. He asks his interlocutors to imagine current events from the perspective of five centuries in the future—how would we evaluate them from that amplified temporal vantage point? When the printing press was invented in the 15th century, scribes and copyists protested vigorously over imminent job losses. Seen from today, the invention led to an explosion of scientific knowledge and was one of the most transformative changes in human history.

“This mental exercise suggests that most of what we currently believe is ephemeral and will be replaced. It invites humility about what could be, what we know, and what we don’t,” Bryan Johnson reflects.

The potential creation of superintelligence raises unprecedented existential questions: is humanity creating its next species? Is it achieving biological immortality through symbiosis with AI? Is it literally giving birth to a deity?

Bryan Johnson doesn’t believe the answer lies in extreme positions. Instead, he argues that humanity’s crucial role in the next chapter of civilization is to remain present—to observe and actively participate in this transformation. “I’m not afraid of dying, but I want to stay here long enough to see what we become as a species when superintelligence enters our dimension,” he declares.

“Many people think everything I do is about health and personal well-being. In reality, I’m trying to answer a much bigger question: what do we do as a species when we create a superior intelligence? In this sense, I believe it’s the most important thing we could do collectively.”

This is the true portrait of Bryan Johnson beyond sensational headlines about cryopreservation and radical biological experiments: a man who, having nearly dedicated himself entirely to cryptocurrencies a decade ago, has instead embarked on an even more ambitious quest to redefine the boundaries of human existence in the twenty-first century.