Cameron Winklevoss, early Bitcoin investor the outspoken co-founder of the Gemini crypto exchange, is a staunch supporter of what he and his brother Tyler call the Future of Money. They and their exchange have worked to elevate the industry and help it shed the wild west atmosphere of the emerging market.
In his latest comments, the Bitcoin bull compares crypto assets to the assets of the dot com era: domain names. The comparison is used to show the tremendous growth the crypto market has brought investors – far more than the mere “few millions” that Winklevoss says a four-letter domain would have netted someone if bought in 1990.
Cameron Winklevoss: Cryptonetworks > Internet, Here’s Why
Cameron Winklevoss knows plenty about investing in early technologies like the internet and more recently, cryptocurrencies. The early Bitcoin supporter was also partly responsible for one of the earliest examples of a social media network, which eventually became the foundation for Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook – one of the most powerful internet giants today.
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In a recent tweet, the tech entrepreneur and one half of the Winklevoss twins has compared ownership of crypto network assets – cryptocurrencies – to the early owners of internet assets, or domain names. In the early days of the internet, forward-thinking entrepreneurs would gobble up two-, three-, and four-letter domain names in anticipation of the stampede of companies that would eventually have a presence in cyberspace.
Cyberspace assets = domain names
Cryptonetwork assets = tokens1990: 4-letter domain = $10. Same domain today = few millions max
2009: bitcoin pizza = $10. Same pizza today = ~$80millionAbility to own a piece of Cryptonetworks > Internet.
— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) May 23, 2019
Eventually, few-letter domain names became scarce, and have since ran out. Those left holding the remaining assets can fetch a lofty amount depending on if there is a brand out there interested in that domain. The scarcity of four-and-under-letter domain names is strikingly similar to capped supply of Bitcoins.
In Winklevoss’s comparison, he says a $10 investment in a four-letter domain in 1990 could be worth a “few millions max.” Meanwhile, the same investment – using a $10 exchange of Bitcoin for pizza coinciding with yesterday’s Bitcoin pizza day as the example – would have netted the investor upwards of $80 million in twenty less years time.
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The comparison truly does show the incredible potential and magnitude Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have even compared to something as powerful and life-altering as the internet. The Winklevoss twins went along for the ride as both major technologies blossomed into what they are today. The internet has matured, the crypto industry is still in its infancy and has so much more room to grow ahead of it.
Forward-thinking investors similar to those who saw potential in domain names long before others, should also realize the potential that crypto assets offer. Those that do could be rewarded handsomely.
Featured image from Shutterstock
