Winklevoss Twins Take Big Stake in Digital Currency

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bitcoinsA form of digital currency called bitcoin has grabbed the attention of investors as its value has spiked and plunged in recent trading.

It is also finally attracting some big name buyers, including Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twins who sued Mark Zuckerberg over their role in the founding of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB). The Winklevoss twins recently announced that they had acquired $11 million worth of bitcoins, the New York Times noted.

While most bitcoin owners prefer to remain anonymous, other big names are expressing an interest. OpenCoin, a bitcoin related company has received financing from Andreessen Horowitz, an investment firm co-founded by Netscape founder Marc Andreessen.

The currency is the handiwork of unknown computer programmers. Currently, there are only a handful of online outlets where bitcoins can be used, and most of those have decidedly shady reputations.

Advocates of bitcoins think that the digital currency will eventually become mainstream, used in routine commercial transactions.

On Thursday, trading of the currency was suspended after the price of bitcoins had plunged 60%. The entire bitcoin market is worth about $1.3 billion.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2013/04/winklevoss-twins-take-big-stake-in-digital-currency/.

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