Gemini, founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has built a reputation since 2014 as a trustworthy cryptocurrency exchange that fully complies with state and federal regulations in the United States.
Yesterday, after the launch of a new ad campaign with slogans like ‘The Revolution Needs Rules’, ‘Crypto Without Chaos’ and ‘Money Has a Future’, the twins – who famously appeared in the Facebook film The Social Network – held an Ask Me Anything session on the popular discussion website Reddit.
Here are some of the highlights.
Redditor: In the 2014 AMA one of you gave a Bitcoin price prediction of “small bullish scenario: $40K”. Do you still believe that scenario, and if not what is your new price prediction?
Tyler: “Our thesis around bitcoin’s upside remains unchanged. We believe Bitcoin is better at being gold than gold.
“If we’re right, then over time the market cap of Bitcoin will surpass the ~7trillion dollar market cap of gold.”
Do you think Bitcoin will allways be Crypto #1?
Cameron: “Bitcoin is certainly the OG (original gangster) crypto! It’s hard to defeat network effects — so in terms of ‘hard money’ (i.e., store of value) Bitcoin is most likely the winner in the long term.”
What exactly does a cryptocurrency revolution ‘success’ look like to you guys (say a decade from now)?
Tyler: “Success is a future where the Internet looks dramatically different than it does today (i.e., decentralized and open) and your money does things that your current money cannot do (i.e., it works like your email).”
Expanding on the email analogy, he added: “Open 24/7/365, and can send and receive any amount of money (e.g., micropayments) to anyone around the world instantly and for next to free.
“Imagine if your email worked like your money, that is to say it was available from 9-5pm Mon-Fri and it took sometimes up to 3-5 days for someone in another country to get your message?”
Some voices in crypto took umbrage with your recent advertising campaign in NY. The slogan read “Gemini: The REGULATED Cryptocurrency Exchange”. Could you explain the reasoning behind it? Does Gemini stand alone in this respect?
Cameron: “We know we aren’t going to please everyone but the healthiest and most vibrant economies have thoughtful rules to promote positive outcomes.
“You can’t point to a lawless economy that is thriving.
“To be clear, there are exchanges and custodians that subscribe to our principles and it’s encouraging to see that we are not alone in this regard — but for us this is a core focus and something we have worked hard to be thought-leaders in.”
Are you concerned over the plummet of Bitcoin, or do you see this as a long-term game?
Tyler: “If you zoom out far enough, bitcoin has been to moving up and to the right since inception.
“We believe in the long game. Spartans hold!”
How do you see your so-called “stablecoin” fitting into the market of cryptocoin offerings? Are you attempting to compete with money transfer companies?
Cameron: “We built the Gemini dollar to bring U.S. dollars onto the blockchain. From there it can potentially power decentralized apps and crypto native services.
“Yes, it can also be used for money transfers, but we view it more about powering a new future than competing w/ existing payment networks built on legacy banking rails.”
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.