The Winklevoss twins, who are also Olympic rowers, are best known for taking Mark Zuckerberg to court in 2007. Mark Zuckerberg claimed he stole his Facebook idea from the two’s website ConnectU when the two were at Harvard University.
Zuckerberg ultimately agreed to a $20 million cash and $45 million stock settlement to end the “bad law” dramatized in the award-winning film The Social Network.
But he has always maintained that Facebook did not steal the idea. In January 2011, the twins tried to reopen the deal, claiming it was unfair because Facebook withheld the true value of the shares, even though the settlement was worth $160 million at the time.
A third classmate, Divya Narendra, was part of a settlement with the twins, but did not participate in rescinding the agreement.
In April 2011, the twins’ lawsuit was dismissed after a judge said they knew enough to understand what they were agreeing to when they signed their settlement with Zuckerberg in 2008. I was.
Litigation: The Winklevoss twins appeared in federal district court in Boston following a court hearing in a lawsuit against Facebook in 2007.
The twin legal claims were made famous by social networks and played by one actor, Armie Hammer (whose role is pictured above).
In May 2011, after a Massachusetts judge ruled that software developers could sue them for part of the $65 million Facebook settlement, the two filed for their own. I know the taste of medicine.
Wayne Zhang claimed he was entitled to half the amount because he developed peer-to-peer file-sharing software for the company’s website, ConnectU, and signed an agreement that gave him joint ownership.
He claimed that the brothers prevented him from receiving the cash he was due. was.
In the lawsuit, the developers argued that a 50% stake in Winklevoss Chang Group meant they were entitled to half of the $65 million settlement.
After nearly a decade of controversy, a Massachusetts appeals court ruled in April 2019 that Chan was not entitled to the $65 million the twins had raised.
In May 2011, the twins got a taste of their medicine after a judge ruled that software developer Wayne Chang could sue them for part of the $65 million Facebook settlement. I was.
The pair revealed in July 2013 They own about 1% of Bitcoin, which is worth about $11 million.
In March 2014, the twins used Bitcoin to purchase tickets. Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket planes – worth $250,000 each – served as the 700th and 701st passengers.
Tyler wrote on his blog at the time:
“We bought new technology that could change the way we trade forever.”
In March 2014, the twins used Bitcoin to purchase tickets for Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane.
Hukkster, a fashion sales site with the help of twins, closed in the summer of 2014 after about two and a half years.
The twins invested $1 million in a startup. This allows users to tag items they want from online retailers and receive alerts when the items are on sale.
If the purchase was made, Hukkster made a small percentage of the profit.
According to LinkedIn, it had 25 employees at the time of its closure.
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In January 2015, the twins spoke about their hopes of taking Bitcoin mainstream by creating the first regulated Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the United States.
Calling their project the “Nasdaq of Bitcoin,” they hired engineers from top hedge funds, enlisted banks, and lobbied regulators to open their own exchange.
In May 2016, the state of New York approved the Gemini Trust Company’s application to trade the digital currency Ether on the Bitcoin exchange.
At the time, Cameron revealed that investment firm Winklevoss Capital was a “significant” holder of Ether.
Cameron and Tyler at the 2016 Met Gala launched Gemini the same year
In 2017, Winklevosses became the world’s first Bitcoin billionaire.
they I invested in bitcoin early on and that purchase allowed me to control almost 1% of bitcoin.
It is unclear when they invested in cryptocurrencies, and trading fluctuates.
After trading below $250 for most of 2017, it fell to $150 for several months.
Fortune reported that the twins bought the currency for $120.
The brothers are said to have never sold a single bitcoin after seeing the value of bitcoin skyrocket.
At some point in December 2017, the coin was valued at $11,413.46, giving an investment value of $1,046 million.
Some of the world’s crypto billionaires saw billions wiped from their fortunes in May 2022 as the value of digital currencies plummeted due to concerns about the wider global economy. rice field.
Winklevosses reportedly lost about half of its assets, dropping from about $4.5 billion to $2.2 billion, and was forced to lay off a whopping 10% of the startup’s staff during this time.
After the crash, a video of the twins singing Journey’s hit “Don’t Stop Believin'” went viral.
The US CFTC filed a federal lawsuit in New York in June 2022, accusing Gemini Trust Co of making false and misleading statements.
The US CFTC filed a federal lawsuit in New York in June 2022, accusing Gemini Trust of making false and misleading statements regarding the Bitcoin futures contracts it was pursuing in 2017.
The agency claims Gemini violated federal laws governing merchandise and is seeking civil fines and other remedies.
According to the filing, Gemini officials believe that statements and information communicated or omitted by the company regarding how the proposed Bitcoin futures contract could be manipulated are false or misleading. “Knew, or reasonably should have known” that it was an invitation.
“I have an eight-year track record of asking permission, not forgiveness, and always doing the right thing. I look forward to definitively proving this in court,” Gemini said in a statement.
The CFTC filing said Gemini’s proposed Bitcoin futures contract is particularly significant as it is one of the first digital asset futures contracts listed on the designated contract market.
The twins are now facing further scrutiny in their deal with Gemini, alleging a lawsuit from the SEC and customers who allege they were deceived by the company when they lent Xenesys $900 million.
