Winklevoss Twins Talk About Bitcoin, Gemini and ETF at TechCrunch Disrupt NY
| Updatedby Tatsiana Yablonskaya · 3 min read
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss discussed achieved results and future of bitcoin at Disrupt NY.
TechCrunch Disrupt NY gathered interesting audience this year. Winklevoss brothers, bitcoin enthusiasts and young entrepreneurs, talked about their most significant projects.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are only 33 years old but they already have launch of exchange traded fund (ETF) and creation of bitcoin exchange Gemini among their important achievements. Success story started in 2004 when they created social network HarvardConnection (also known as ConnectU).
But that was not the invention itself that made them popular. They filed a claim against Mark Zuckerberg stating that he used their idea for creation of Facebook. They managed to win and received $65 million. Brothers didn’t give up entrepreneurial activity and soon came up with two brilliant ventures.
The appearance of ETF on financial market is aimed at making the process of investing in bitcoin, which used to be available only for well-off investors, simpler. They intended the product first of all for bankers and street traders. In their opinion bitcoin has been underestimated for too long. It needs to become more understandable for people. “Bitcoin was this really strange technology that only geeks – and even not a lot of geeks, it was geeks within geeks” – Tyler Winklevoss.
After filing S-1 registration with the SEC the twins managed to create a product which is as available as any other ETF. Now bitcoin can be traded on the NASDAQ OMX. Some people question the value of ETF comparing it to Coinbase that offers purchase and storage of bitcoin. In face the service is suitable for single transactions while ETF allows traders various investment strategies which are now unique for the USA.
Complicated process of buying and storing of bitcoins prevents it from becoming wide-spread. It can be a real problem to deal with bitcoin. Following the idea of popularization of bitcoin the Winklevoss brothers launched exchange which they call “next-generation Bitcoin exchange”. The team of 14 experts works hard creating fully regulated exchange for physical and legal persons.
Cameron and Tyler fight back all the critic saying that bitcoin is their lifetime project. They are not newcomers in this sphere, it is something they have been passionate about for a long time. “I don’t know if we’re experts, but the goal is not to be an expert but to change the world. Does Richard Branson understand all the physics behind his space craft? I’m not sure” – stated Cameron Winklevoss at Disrupt NY. In fact brothers own now 1% of all bitcoin.
TechCrunch Disrupt also witnessed the presentation of new super-secure Case bitcoin wallet. Details are here.
