Tim Draper tells how much he paid for the confiscated Silkco bitcoins.
Well-known entrepreneur and venture investor Tim Draper announced that he recognized the potential of digital currencies some 15 years ago and also mentioned the amount he confiscated in 2014 for 30,000 BTC seized by Darknet Market Silk Road.
However, the collapse of the Mt.Gox Exchange helped Draper to an important point: despite all these events, the price of Bitcoin fell only 20%, while the cryptocurrency continued to trade on other exchanges.
"It became clear to me that the demand for this new digital currency was so great that a big theft could not bother Bitcoin, creating new ways to store and transfer money. Since the financial crisis, people have begun to lose confidence in public money. Through Boost VC, I've supported multiple companies, spotted more and more application scenarios [cryptocurrency] and seen a great opportunity that has opened up, "he says.
In July 2014, Draper finally had another chance to invest in Bitcoin. It was an auction for bitcoins previously confiscated by Silk Road. About 30,000 BTC were offered for sale, and as the businessman says, it was an opportunity for him to get the lost coins back.
"Bitcoin cost $ 618 at the time, and at the last minute, I decided to bid over the market. I bet $ 632 and won all the bitcoins! "- Draper revealed the details of this auction.
According to the entrepreneur, the victory in the auction cost him 18.74 million dollars.
He also admitted that he initially regretted paying such a high price, but then he considered how best to use bitcoins with a "bad story". Therefore, Draper decided to support cryptocurrency projects in countries where people have little faith in their national currency. Among the startups that received support included BitPesa in Africa and BitPagos (later Ripio) in South America.
Recalling that Tim Draper, who had previously forecast Bitcoin's $ 250,000 increase by 2022, expressed his conviction at the end of last year that the entire global economy will turn towards cryptocurrency in the future, with Bitcoin at the forefront of all these changes becomes.
He repeated that thought now, explaining the inevitability of the revolutionary transformations that cryptocurrencies bring.
"I think the potential of Bitcoin is limited only by the imagination of entrepreneurs who are committed to promoting this virtual economy," added Tim Draper.
