Back in 2012, the world’s initial Bitcoin billionaires, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, were ridiculed for putting money into the then-new cryptocurrency. Today, nonetheless, their investment has increased by a staggering 108,233%, making them household names among cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
The twins were famous for suing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly stealing their concept to develop the social networking site that is popular on the web today. The lawsuit was settled for around $65 million, which the pair then went on to invest in Bitcoin in 2012 when the electronic cash was selling at about $10 a coin.
They spent around $1.2 million purchasing 120,000 Bitcoins, which was unpopular then. Most people viewed it as a gamble. Yet the price of Bitcoin skyrocketed overnight, particularly after 2017, to record levels. Presently, with one Bitcoin being worth anywhere from $99,318.84, their investment is placed at around $11.5 billion.
Whereas the majority of individuals would spend such wealth on starting their ventures, setting themselves up for the future, or buying luxurious items, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss spent their newly acquired wealth on a then-upcoming cryptocurrency.
Despite the early ridicule, the twins in an interview with The New York Times in 2017 said that the mockery they had endured turned into “wind at their backs.” Tyler Winklevoss said that they did not think through their move to get into Bitcoin early: “We took that laughter and ridicule and we turned it into oxygen and wind at our backs,” he said.
They had protected most of their investments with state-of-the-art security protocols, such as splitting up access keys to their wallet and placing them in different locations.
The story of the Winklevoss twins has become an inspiration to many. Not just a success story of wealth, but also of sticking to one’s convictions and using criticism as a motivational tool.
Nowadays, the twins are earning their reputation in the crypto world as “Bitcoin Billionaires” with their fortunes forecast to grow further in the years to come.
Bitcoin, the initial decentralized digital currency, was invented in 2009 by a person or group of people who used the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. It uses blockchain technology, which logs all transactions securely and transparently. The value of Bitcoin is currently ranging from $105,107, with a daily trading volume of around $22.13 billion.
