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Winklevoss Twins on Bitcoin: ‘We Took a Cannonball off the Diving Board’

Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:36 PM
Gerelyn Terzo
Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:36 PM

By CCN.com: Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss shared the rundown on “CBS Sunday Morning”  alongside Father’s Day, Tim Allen and the latest edition of Toy Story as well as a look back at the Transcontinental Railroad. The twins were featured for their billionaire status, which they achieved through their early investment in bitcoin.

The Winklevii were astute enough to invest in bitcoin when it was trading in the high-single digits. Today the bitcoin price is hovering above $9,000. They explained on CBS their “decision to buy 1% of all bitcoins in the world,” saying:

“Some people might dive off the diving board. I think, in this case, we took a cannonball off the diving board.” 

They added:

Our thesis at the time was bitcoin’s going to disrupt gold. And gold has a market cap of $7 trillion today. So if bitcoin’s going to be worth $7 trillion or more, this seems like a cheap asset. It was a complete Wild West.” 

gemini tweet
  | Source: Twitter

Cameron explained how he turned to his brother Tyler and said:

“This is either next big thing or total BS.” 

Bitcoin has repeatedly proven itself to be the former.

Winklevoss Twins vs. Mark Zuckerberg

Incidentally, their status in crypto might not have been possible were it not for a settlement they received from their chief rival, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It’s been widely publicized that Zuckerberg is working on his own cryptocurrency and has lassoed in the likes of Visa, Mastercard, and Uber for the reportedly $1 billion effort. While the Winklevoss twins don’t appear threatened by it, they also didn’t give any credence to the theory that they are part of the venture.  They said:

“I don’t know, we haven’t seen what they’re doing. There’s so much pie to grow.”

When reminded about how Zuckerberg gobbled up the social media pie, the Winklevii responded:

“I think this pie is different.”

The Winklevii, who are behind crypto exchange Gemini, also got into a legal tussle with Charlie Shrem, which was a lesson they say they learned from:

“It informed us on what not to do and what had to change.” 

cameron winklevoss tweet
  Cameron Winklevoss is looking forward to July 4. | Source: Twitter

Buying Bitcoin Is Painless

Meanwhile, They advised moms (and seemingly dads) out there interested in buying bitcoin:

“First, download the [Gemini] app, we make it super painless. Alright Mom, give it a shot but don’t put too much in.”

CBS Sunday Morning boasts millions of viewers  and is a bright spot for the network, which has seen its share of struggles.

CBS picked an excellent time to spotlight bitcoin, considering the biggest cryptocurrency just attained a fresh 2019 high price at nearly $9,400. It has since pulled back somewhat but it’s still hovering above the $9,000 threshold. Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, has predicted that the BTC price will be greater than $10,000 by June 21. The Winklevii, meanwhile, have their sights set on July 4 as a pivotal date.

*Disclosure: Direct quotes are approximate transcriptions from the CBS interview.