You are correct that MGT took off on the news John McAfee would be involved. It also became the heaviest volume stock on the market for 2 days at its peak. Now that was JUST on the news he was involved, which means we got a sneak peak of the power his name can have on the share price. Keep in ming it had LESS going for it back then than it does right now, minus the delisting. The next step is establishing the potential of the underlying business. Of course that it is the hardest part, but it would not take much for that to take hold, and return the SP to growth territory.
As for the delisting, you have to remember that the current management took over the shell of another company when it became the MGT it is today. The delisting was only a side effect of that process. Delisting doesnt happen overnight, and the current management clearly wasn't prepare to stop it from happening, regardless of the end result. The upshot was MGT is trading at a deep discount to where it would be if the delisting never occurred. Something they will have to remedy, but something that is certainly possible to remedy as well.
Mistakes ALWAYS happen in startups. The delisting was a mistake, but not the end of the world. Id much rather see a delisting than see them ship products that explode in people's hands, or get hit with a regulatory cease and desist. THOSE are the things that sink startups. Delisting just trips them up.
