Earlier today, a kind-hearted, mysterious stranger began giving out Bitcoins to random Reddit users.

This person called themselves the Bitcoinbillionaire, and eventually gave out over $13,000 worth of Bitcoins to 12 complete strangers using "Bitcointip." One lucky person received almost $5,000 worth.

We messaged a few of the recipients of the gifts. All who responded said that they did not know who the Bitcoinbillionaire was, and that they had not interacted with the account until today (the account is a throwaway, so doing so would have been impossible, or would require knowing another account operated by Bitcoinbillionaire).

Some also told us how they were spending their bitcoins. Surprisingly, many were giving away significant portions of their tips.

Karelb, the user who received almost $5,000, told us that they had received the money, and already used a portion to buy a new mobile phone on bitmit.com. According to their Reddit history, Karelb has tipped at least 12 people since receiving their money from Bitcoinbillionaire (small sums — around $5 usually).

Cybrbeast told us that the surprise tip had "made [their] day." They had received $400 worth and planned to "pay forward" at least $100 worth of it. Their Reddit history also shows that they have already begun this plan.

The final recipient of Bitcoinbillionaire's bitcoins was NerdFighterSean, who received $1,304.65. Interestingly, NerdFighterSean is the creator of the "Bitcointip," the service used by Bitcoinbillionaire to tip strangers via Reddit.

NerdFighterSean told us that he would be using the money to upgrading the Bitcointip system, and tipping people who help out on it. In fact, within minutes of receiving his tip from the Bitcoinbillionaire, NerdFighterSean had already passed some of it on:

Please follow Business Insider on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »