Once famous for their legal battle with Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook, the Winklevoss twins are now feted in the world of cryptocurrency.
Tyler Winklevoss and his brother Cameron attended Harvard, where they met Zuckerberg. The Social Network movie, of 2010, was a dramatic retelling of the Facebook origin story where the twins were portrayed as ‘losers’.
Their much-hyped legal battle over rights to Facebook did not help this reputation.
However, today the Winklevoss twins are billionaires thanks to canny investment in cryptocurrency and, to some, respected figures in the industry.
This new standing has led to the brothers claiming that ‘centralised’ platforms like Facebook have had their day.
Tyler Winklevoss once told Forbes that the idea of a centralised social network is ‘just not going to exist’ in the next five or 10 years.
The rising value of decentralised currencies, embraced by major corporations, and the growth of DeFi, they say, show the world is looking for alternatives to the ‘old ways’.
The Winklevoss Brothers
The legal spat with Zuckerberg secured the twins a $65 million settlement, ending their case alleging the concept for Facebook had been ‘stolen’ from them.
They have filled their portfolio with businesses attempting to decentralise services dominated by the likes of Facebook, Microsoft, and Google.
In addition, they have invested in cryptocurrency. According to a Forbes article, the Winklevoss brothers started purchasing BTC in 2012 after a tip from ‘early adopters’ while visiting Ibiza.
The magazine quoted a source claiming that BTC and the Bitcoin blockchain which underpins it are fuelling a commercial empire worth more than $6 billion.
Winklevoss and NFTs
One of the major successes enjoyed by the brothers is Nifty Gateway, a marketplace for buying and selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Nifty Gateway is seen as a contributor to the explosion in popularity of NFTs among art lovers, collectors, and those seeking alternative investments.
Gemini
Another of the successes attributed to the Winklevoss brothers is Gemini.
This privately held, regulated cryptocurrency exchange offers more than 100 cryptocurrencies for purchase, sale, trading, and secure storage.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss founded it in 2014 under the legal name Gemini Trust Co., LLC.
For casual investors and serious traders, Gemini offers a tier-based service with distinct interfaces and pricing schedules. There is a smartphone app, a payment app, and it has its own currency, the Gemini dollar, an ERC20-compliant token built on the Ethereum network. It is a US dollar-backed stablecoin.
Why Gemini?
Simplicity of use and transaction security are two of this crypto exchange’s primary draws for many users.
The majority of users’ cryptocurrency is kept in offline ‘cold storage,’ while ready cash is kept in an insured ‘hot wallet’, offering higher security for transactions.
Gemini obtains insurance for client cryptocurrency assets and is also authorised and governed by the New York State Department of Financial Services.
It provides an easy-to-use interface for new users and sophisticated features for busy traders. To help investors, it also has a learning hub.
Winklevoss Fortunes
While cryptocurrency markets have stumbled in 2022, the Winklevoss brothers are expected to weather the storm.
Gemini is a respected exchange where talk of security, insurance, and regulation is seen to give confidence. Plus, the NFT market remains buoyant, meaning Nifty Gateway, as one of the first and best-known NFT marketplaces, is well positioned.
