Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, made famous by their early investment in Bitcoin, are now suggesting that this digital asset should be much more prevalent on financial portfolios than it currently is.
Coming out with remarks in a CNN Business interview August 22, in the wake of sideways BTC action coalescing around $10,000, Tyler said Bitcoin still remains sort of a retail market where it should be more integrated into Wall Street’s thinking.
“Unlike the internet, which you couldn’t buy a piece of, you can actually buy a piece of this new internet of money,” he said, according to a report in Cointelegraph. “ It’s still a retail-driven market, from day one … and a lot of people have done really well. Wall Street has been asleep at the wheel.”
The two also have an interesting outlook on Bitcoin related to financial crime.
One of the biggest criticisms leveled at Bitcoin by Nouriel Roubini and others is its utility to cybercriminals. It’s also something that world regulators are most worried about when thinking about greenlighting various crypto-related proposals.
Detractors often cite widespread reports of ransomware operators requesting payment in Bitcoin and talk about how decentralized systems can provide cover for fraudulent activity, although ironically, transparency is supposed to be a major tenet of the blockchain.
More simply, the Winklevoss twins simply say that statistically, Bitcoin is not a major player in the shady underworld of criminal enterprise.
“More criminals have used the dollar than anything else.”
It’s a line that Marie Huillet indirectly attributes to the twins, but whether it’s verbatim or not, the phrase aptly describes a lot of the philosophy behind crypto enthusiasm. The dollar is traditional; crypto is new. The dollar is fiat; BTC is backed by a specific system of supply and demand. Finance experts argue unendingly about which is more “stable” – and the big picture, increasingly, is complex. As hard as it is to get a handle on the world economy as a whole, it can be even harder to compare and contrast fiat and crypto currencies.
Look for more of this kind of debate as BTC continues to emerge on the scene.
