A learning moment, brought to you by the Winklevoss twins, crypto, innovation and raw hucksterism.
The brothers had a story to tell.
Photographer: Christopher Goodney/BloombergTimothy L. O'Brien
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One of my favorite scenes in “The Social Network,” Aaron Sorkin’s takedown about Facebook’s founders, is when the actor playing Harvard president Larry Summers upbraids the actor playing the dual role of the Winklevoss twins. Don’t ask the university to intervene in your petty dispute with Mark Zuckerberg, he tells them. “Everybody at Harvard is inventing something,” he adds. “I suggest again that the two of you come up with a new, new project.”
In the real world, the Winklevoss twins – who eventually walked away with tens of millions in Facebook stock and other payments – did, indeed, come up with new, new projects: An asset management firm and a digital currency exchange that made them marquee players in the recent cryptocurrency boom and meltdown. There are other, more significant crypto players (think Sam Bankman-Fried) but the twins fascinate me because they embody the sort of collision Crash Course lives for: between innovation and possible hucksterism and between authenticity and possible manipulation.
Crypto is one of the most revolutionary and over-hyped inventions of the 21st century and how the Winklevii intersected with that market is a tale that sheds light on finance and financial bubbles – and on what happens when everybody thinks they can get rich quickly.
Joining me to discuss all of this is Lionel Laurent, a financial columnist for Bloomberg Opinion and someone who has spent a lot of time watching crypto evolve.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
To contact the author of this story:
Timothy L. O'Brien[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Anna Mazarakis[email protected]
