Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who are popularly known as the Winklevoss twins, are now more than $1 billion richer as their venture on cryptocurrency Bitcoin has profited from the $11 million investment they made six years ago.
Last week, the digital currency hit $11,395 to continue its drastic rise in value over the past few days. While it is not known how much exactly is the Winklevoss Twins net worth in BTC, reports are expecting about a billion-dollar worth of Bitcoins.
Early Backers of the Cryptocurrency Trading Platform
The Winklevoss Twins are among the first backers of Bitcoin, purchasing $11 million worth of bitcoins in 2011, which amounted to about 1 percent of the total amount of BTC in circulation at that time. Since then, the cryptocurrency has seen a slow but steady rise in value. Last week, it reached an all-time high, making millionaires out of its early backers in the process.
However, the Winklevoss Twins are considered to be the first high-profile investors to reach a billion-dollar net worth of Bitcoin.
Interestingly, the venture capitalists pointed out that they have not sold a single bitcoin yet, with Cameron Winklevoss stating that the two of them are in for the long haul. On the other hand, Tyler Winklevoss said in an interview in 2016 that Bitcoin is a "better version of gold."
Bitcoin Financial Issues
Despite the rising popularity of Bitcoin trading not only among technologists, investors, and the masses, there are financial experts who are dismissing its real value -- claiming that it is a fraud. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has also issued a warning, pointing out that Bitcoin may have financial stability issues.
"While these digital currencies may not pose major concerns at their current levels of use, more serious financial stability issues may result if they achieve wide-scale usage," Fed chief Randal Quarles said,
However, it seems Bitcoin's immense popularity is slowly gaining traction among private entities and financial regulators. On Monday, the US derivatives regulator has allowed CME Group and the CBOE Global Markets to list Bitcoin futures.
Winklevoss Twins vs. Facebook
So, where did the $11 million bitcoin investment come from? In 2008, the Winklevoss Twins received a $65 million payout from Facebook as settlement for the lawsuit filed against the social media giant. In the case, the twins alleged that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took from their idea of a social network platform, which they developed while studying at Harvard University.
After years of trial, court ruling came to a settlement decision with Facebook handing out $65 million to the Winklevoss twins.
