Twins Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, who famously accused Facebook Inc. (FB, Financial) founder Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their idea, have been seeking regulatory approval for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund. They call their project the 'Nasdaq of Bitcoin'.
Bitcoins â What is it?
Bitcoin (BTCS, Financial) is a digital currency that, unlike conventional money, is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control. Bitcoin is not backed by a government or central bank and its value fluctuates according to demand by users. Users can transfer bitcoins to each other over the Internet and store the currency in digital 'walletsâ.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are hoping to make Bitcoin mainstream by creating the first regulated Bitcoin exchange in the United States. The brothers, who received $65 million in Facebook shares and cash in 2008 after a battle with its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, will finance the exchange themselves.
âOur goal was simple: bring together the nationâs top security experts, technologists, and financial engineers to build a world-class exchange from the ground up with a security-first mentality. Itâs true that Bitcoinâs promise is a new, frictionless money, but that all becomes academic if we donât build towards an ecosystem that is free of hacking, fraud and security breaches. Today, my brother Tyler and I are proud to announce Gemini: a next generation Bitcoin exchangeâ, Cameron Winkevoss said in a press release.
''What exactly do we mean by 'next generation'? We mean a fully regulated, fully compliant, New York-based bitcoin exchange for both individuals and institutions alike. Why? Because itâs all about timeâ. He added.
Bitcoin is a digital currency that, unlike conventional money, is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control.
The investor twins have hired financial engineers from top hedge funds, enlisted a bank and engaged regulators with the aim of opening their exchange in the coming months.
Road Ahead
Winklevoss twins will take on Wall Street with 'Nasdaq of Bitcoin' in bid to create first regulated exchange for cyber currency.
Meanwhile, New York regulators are currently weighing up a raft of new rules to regulate Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. The New York State's Department of Financial Services has proposed issuing a âBitLicenseâ which it said would protect consumers, prevent money laundering and enforce cyber security. Coinbase's new exchange will act under current regulations.
A growing number of US investors, traders, financial institutions and businesses wanted to get involved with Bitcoin directly, but had no options other than to trade overseas or sit on the sidelines.
Apparently seeing the total collapse of Mt. Gox and troubles experienced by other exchanges hasn't discouraged the Winklevoss brothers. "The A Team wasnât there,â Tyler Winklevoss commented.
Parting words
"There was a problem here and it needs to be solved.â Gemini will be ready to try its hand at fixing that problem as soon as the exchange gains regulatory approval from Benjamin M. Lawsky, the superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services; a test model of the exchange is already up and running, according to the reports released in Times. There's good reason for the Winklevoss brothers to pick up Bitcoin's reputation; they reportedly invested nearly $11 million in the currency back in 2012. For a while, that seemed like a good bet, but now the Winklevoss twins clearly see a need to bring some sense of order in the world of Bitcoin.
