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Winklevoss-backed DeFi platform launches after $6.9M investment round

Azura completed a $6.9 million investment round backed by the Winklevoss twins, Volt Capital and Alliance DAO.

Azura, a new all-in-one crypto application aggregation layer, has launched with support from some of the most notable crypto founders.

Azura, which brands itself as an onchain interfacing layer, launched on Oct. 22, aims to lower the entry barrier for new investors and enable them to trade any asset via decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Azura aims to support all blockchains and protocols, according to an Oct. 22 X post:

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SafePal launches Telegram crypto wallet with Visa card support

Markets in Freefall, Coinbase Reports Great Q2 Revenue, and More — Week in Review

Markets in Freefall, Coinbase Reports Great Q2 Revenue, and More — Week in ReviewThe U.S. stock market experienced significant declines, and the crypto market fell by 5.82% following a disappointing jobs report, sparking concerns about a potential recession. Meanwhile, Coinbase reported $1.4 billion in Q2 revenue, highlighting growth and regulatory progress in the crypto sector. In Zambia, the central bank aims to enforce the kwacha as the sole […]

SafePal launches Telegram crypto wallet with Visa card support

Who Will Replace Gensler? Winklevoss Urges Crypto Industry to Demand SEC Chair Decision Before Election

Who Will Replace Gensler? Winklevoss Urges Crypto Industry to Demand SEC Chair Decision Before ElectionGemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss has urged the crypto industry to demand to know who the next U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair will be before the election. He also urged crypto supporters to “demand that both parties embrace our industry, treat it fairly, and do everything in their power to ensure that America is […]

SafePal launches Telegram crypto wallet with Visa card support

Gemini Founders Donate $2 Million in Bitcoin to Donald Trump to End Biden’s ‘War on Crypto’

Gemini Founders Donate  Million in Bitcoin to Donald Trump to End Biden’s ‘War on Crypto’Crypto exchange Gemini’s co-founders, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, have donated $1 million each in bitcoin to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Tyler criticized the Biden administration for allegedly weaponizing government agencies, as well as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), against the crypto industry. Cameron echoed these sentiments, declaring Trump as the pro-bitcoin, pro-crypto, and […]

SafePal launches Telegram crypto wallet with Visa card support

Winklevoss Brothers Send Twin $1,000,000 Bitcoin Donations to Donald Trump

Winklevoss Brothers Send Twin ,000,000 Bitcoin Donations to Donald Trump

Gemini crypto exchange co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are each sending $1 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) donations to Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump. In a lengthy post on the social media platform X, the billionaires both say they are donating to Trump and will be voting for him during this year’s upcoming election due […]

The post Winklevoss Brothers Send Twin $1,000,000 Bitcoin Donations to Donald Trump appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

SafePal launches Telegram crypto wallet with Visa card support

Coin-for-Coin Payback — Gemini Announces Full Recovery of Crypto Assets for Earn Users After Genesis Settlement

Coin-for-Coin Payback — Gemini Announces Full Recovery of Crypto Assets for Earn Users After Genesis SettlementGemini has reached a settlement with Genesis and other creditors within the Genesis bankruptcy proceedings, promising a full in-kind return of digital assets to Earn program users. This resolution, pending bankruptcy court approval, signifies a major victory for users, with over $1.8 billion in assets set to be returned. Potential Full Crypto Asset Recovery for […]

SafePal launches Telegram crypto wallet with Visa card support

Gemini Agrees to Over $1 Billion Restoration in Settlement With New York Regulators

Gemini Agrees to Over  Billion Restoration in Settlement With New York RegulatorsIn an agreement with the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), the Winklevoss-led cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has committed to returning over $1 billion to its customers. The settlement, which also includes a $37 million fine, comes as a significant development for the exchange amidst several ongoing legal challenges with big-name crypto firms and heightened […]

SafePal launches Telegram crypto wallet with Visa card support

Crypto Stories: Charlie Shrem tells how he became a Bitcoin millionaire

Shrem made a fortune off his Bitcoin payment service, BitInstant, but then went to prison for alleged money laundering.

Charlie Shrem went from running a small online business to becoming a Bitcoin millionaire and making the cover of Forbes magazine. And then, he went to prison.

In the latest episode of Cointelegraph’s Crypto Stories, Shrem tells the story of how he founded BitInstant, grew it into a multimillion-dollar Bitcoin empire, an then was arrested for his role in it.

Shrem’s first business was an e-commerce site that only charged $5 shipping per item. The idea was his cousin’s, but Shrem used his coding skills to create the actual site. The business sold lights, toothbrushes, razors, and other assorted items.

In his free time, Shrem hung out on online message boards. That’s where he found out about Bitcoin. At the time, the only way to buy Bitcoin was to wire transfer large amounts of funds to Mt. Gox, and it took a week for the deposit to clear within the banking system. A customer who wanted to buy smaller amounts or wanted to buy instantly had no way of doing so.

Shrem met up with a person in one of these forums named “Gareth,” and the two o started a business that would allow people to buy or sell Bitcoin instantly. Their company was called “BitInstant.” To allow for instant purchases, the company deposited money into Mt. Gox and purchased Bitcoin with it. They then sold this Bitcoin off in smaller amounts to various customers.

But Shrem and his partner ran into a problem. As their transaction volume grew, they needed more and more cash to deposit into Mt. Gox, and their capital was running out quickly, as Shrem explained:

“It always needed more money because we were growing in transaction size. So in a way that an ATM needs money to sit in the machine all day, we needed money to sit in the exchanges for a week, [be]cause it would take up to a week to top up again. It was a cycle, so we always needed 7 to 8 times our transaction volume.”

The two entrepreneurs met Roger Ver, who helped them with a $100,000 capital injection to continue scaling the business. Ver also suggested the team hire Eric Vorhees. Later, Vorhees and Shrem ran across David Azar at a tech convention, who invested more. Finally, during his honeymoon, Azar met Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss on a beach and convinced them to invest in the company, which provided enough cash to allow the company to overcome its scaling difficulties.

Related: Erik Voorhees lashes ‘disgusting’ behavior of Bitcoin maxis

BitInstant grew so fast it eventually became responsible for 30% of all transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. Meanwhile, Shrem was struggling in his relationships with his family and  the Jewish community he belonged to. Shrem began to feel that his religious community was stifling, especially after he fell in love with a person who was not Jewish. This frustration eventually reached a peak, and Shrem decided to leave the Jewish community.

Then, while attempting to disembark from a plane in New York, Shrem was arrested and charged with money laundering for his role in BitInstant. Authorities claimed that some BitInstant customers had used the Bitcoin they purchased from the company for illicit purposes, including criminal transactions on the Silk Road dark web marketplace.

When released on bail, Shrem was placed under house arrest and forced to live with his strict Jewish parents, who believed that his arrest was a punishment from God in response to him leaving the community. “They thought I deserved what was coming to me,” Shrem said. “They were excited to see me go to jail, because they felt that I hurt them so hard.”

That's all for Part 1 of Charlie Shrem's crypto story. There is more to come in part 2.

Follow the full story: The Untold Story of Charlie Shrem.

SafePal launches Telegram crypto wallet with Visa card support

SEC has pushed investors into ‘toxic’ crypto products and FTX: Winklevoss

Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss said the SEC's refusal to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF has been a "complete and utter disaster for U.S. investors."

For the last decade, the United States securities regulator has forced investors into “toxic” and “unregulated” crypto products, says Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss.

On July 2, the Winklevoss twin slammed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s constant refusal of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, noting it's now been 10 years since the twins first filed to get their own ETF approved by the regulator.

“The [SEC's] refusal to approve these products for a decade has been a complete and utter disaster for US investors and demonstrates how the SEC is a failed regulator.”

Winklevoss argued that without an approved spot Bitcoin ETF, U.S. investors have been pushed into “toxic products like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) which trades at a massive discount" to the price of Bitcoin and charges “astronomical” fees.

GBTC’s NAV discount is currently at 30% compared to Bitcoin’s price, according to YCharts, while the GBTC annual fee is 2%, compared to an average of 0.40%, according to the latest July 2022 study from financial services firm MorningStar.

Winklevoss also believes the refusal has led to U.S. investors moving to “unlicensed and unregulated” offshore platforms, including FTX, which he called “one of the largest financial frauds in modern history.”

“Maybe the SEC will reflect on its dismal record and instead of overstepping its statutory power and trying to act like the gatekeeper of economic life, it will focus on fulfilling its mandate of investor protection,” he opined.

Related: Cathie Wood’s ARK reportedly ‘first in line’ for a spot Bitcoin ETF

Winklevoss’ comments come as a flurry of companies has recently filed, renewed, or amended their filings for a spot Bitcoin ETF including BlackRock, Fidelity, WisdomTree, Invesco, Valkryie and ARK Invest.

The SEC has reportedly said some of the filings for spot ETFs are inadequate and not “sufficiently clear and comprehensive.” The regulator has asked for the fund managers to resubmit after clarifying their filings language.

Meanwhile, Gemini is in a protracted court mediation with Genesis, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG) which also owns Grayscale — the manager for the GBTC. The exchange is also in court on charges from the SEC.

Magazine: Bitcoin 2023 in Miami comes to grips with ‘shitcoins on Bitcoin’

SafePal launches Telegram crypto wallet with Visa card support