Bitcoin, the digital currency, was introduced in 2009 with little fanfare; five years later, shocking the world, it was worth $14 billion. This book explores the cyber currency by focusing on the remarkable stories and intriguing personalities of those responsible for its sudden success: Satoshi Nakamoto, the reclusive and anonymous genius who created Bitcoin; Ross Ulbricht, aka the Dread Pirate Roberts, administrator of the largest and most successful Dark Web drug superstore, who used Bitcoin to fuel the online sale of drugs and other nefarious activities; and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Harvard graduates, successful litigants versus Facebook, world-class Olympic rowers, and Bitcoin entrepreneurs who own 1 percent of all bitcoins in existence.
Bitcoin has introduced us to coke-fueled coding gurus, anger-crazed hitmen-hiring millionaires, and canny “Bitcoin miners” avidly adding processing power to their chilly Icelandic server farms to generate millions of dollars every month. Absurd and almost unbelievable stories abound, and sweep the reader along through the passionate and paranoid insiders who made it all happen.
Inc. names Virtual Billions one of the Most Important Books of 2016!
“This book explores the cyber currency by focusing on those responsible for its sudden success: Satoshi Nakamoto, the reclusive and anonymous genius who created Bitcoin; Ross Ulbricht, the administrator of Silk Road, which used Bitcoin to fuel online sale of drugs, hacking services, counterfeit money, and assassinations; and the Winklevoss twins, who successfully litigated against Facebook and who own 1 percent of all bitcoins in existence.”
“Geissinger’s narrative...offers a perceptive early look at the volatile present and seemingly inevitable future of ‘crypto-currency.’ ”