The Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (36), have amassed a virtual currency amounts in excess on $1.6 billion over the last six years, a feat that represents vindication for them in several ways.
In the Oscar-nominated film, “The Social Network,” the twins were portrayed as the losers in the tussle between them and Mark Zuckerberg. The tussle, as the film goes was based on the ownership of Facebook, the social media giant. The two former Harvard University students and Olympians invested their $65 million court settlement with Zuckerberg in bitcoin. This propelled them to become the first notable virtual currency millionaires way back in 2013. During that time, bitcoin was largely known as the currency of the silk road, where drug dealers sought anonymity.
Their rise to wealth vindicates them from all the labels they received from the dominant personalities at Silicon Valley and Wall Street. They were regarded as naïve and lacking street smart.
However, the soaring prices of the coin have given the brothers a significant dose of vindication. In a recent interview, one of the twins, Tyler Winklevoss said that they had managed to turn the ridicule and laughter into oxygen and wind for their sails.
There are lessons to be learned from this story. Perhaps the most obvious one is for those investors getting into bitcoin this year. They should realize that the biggest reapers are the relatively small number of early adopters who put in large amounts of money to begin with and rode out the roller coaster over the last 5 years. For example, Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator is believed to have bitcoin value in excess of $19 billion.
Some of these early adopters, however, have decided to cash out and live out their dream with the billions of cash money they now possess. The value of this cryptocurrency has hit highs that even they did not anticipate. Could it be downhill from here? Well, the Winklevoss twins do not seem to think so. They are holding on tightly to their bitcoin stash, perhaps foreseeing another sharp rise in value in the coming months or even years. They would rather live with the disappointment of having the value plummet than the regret of not waiting a little longer. It clearly is a waiting game after all. They have come too far to give it all up now. Their lives have also not changed much. They live in the same apartments they did five years ago in downtown Manhattan. The growing pains of cryptocurrency are the motivation behind their decision to hold onto their coins. Undoubtedly, they believe that virtual currencies are far from being fully adopted in mainstream commerce.