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This is How The Winklevoss Twins ‘Hodl’ Their Billion in Bitcoin
Jeff Francis | Dec 25, 2017 | 07:30
The Winklevoss twins have cut up and stored their Bitcoin keys in safety deposit boxes across multiple banks in the United States.
One of the main problems with cryptocurrency is that thieves can plunder a person’s wallet, and there’s very little recourse that one can do in such a situation.
To ensure that such an event doesn’t happen to their 120,000 bitcoins, the Winklevoss twins have cut up their Bitcoin keys into multiple pieces (on paper) and stored them in safety deposit boxes across multiple banks in the United States.
Determination Pays Off
One thing you can say about the Winklevoss twins is that they embrace determination. They spent years rowing in order to become Olympic athletes in the sport, which they did in 2008. After they were screwed by Mark Zuckerberg, they went to the mat and sued him, gaining $65 million in a settlement.
They then used $11 million of that settlement to buy bitcoins, back when they cost less than $10 each. Most people laughed at them, but they were willing to go the long distance for the virtual currency. That wait has certainly paid off as Bitcoin has soared in value over the course of 2017. While it has dipped once again, the value of the bitcoins held by the twins is still well over a billion dollars.
A great retort to all the naysayers who mocked the twins over their initial Bitcoin purchase, Tyler Winklevoss says:
We’ve turned that laughter and ridicule into oxygen and wind at our back.
Keeping the Coins Secure
While the Wild West nature of crypto land can be exciting, it can also be dangerous as criminals hack exchanges to steal whatever they can get their hands on. The brothers are very keen on keeping their cryptocurrency safe, so they went to an extreme in order to do so.
The printed out their various Bitcoin keys and then cut up the individual sheets of paper into pieces. They then put those pieces into different envelopes and mailed them to a number of bank safety deposit boxes spread throughout the United States. If a thief wants to get an entire key, they would have to pilfer every single safety deposit box in order to do so.
Of course, us mere mortals can’t go to such extravagant lengths as the twins have done, but it’s a pretty good idea. What is most fascinating is that the Winklevoss brothers saw the writing on the wall early for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, and they’re big believers. They operate the Gemini exchange and hold about $350 million more in virtual currency, with most of that total in Ethereum. As for the massive price spike in Bitcoin, the brothers have no intention on selling. Tyler Winklevoss says:
We still think it is probably one of the best investments in the world and will be for the decades to come. And if it’s not, we’d rather live with disappointment than regret.
What do you think about how the Winklevoss twins are keeping their Bitcoin keys secure? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Pixabay and Bitcoinist archives.
