Associated Press
- Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — of Facebook founding fame — told CNN Wall Street is "asleep at the wheel" regarding cryptocurrency.
- When asked about governments' fears around digital coins like Facebook's upcoming Libra currency, Tyler said the concerns aren't "a unique problem to bitcoin or crypto."
- The twins launched the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange in 2015 with the goal of bringing regulation to the volatile assets.
- Tyler Winklevoss told Business Insider in April he hopes Gemini can serve as an "on-ramp" for institutional investors and banks to start using digital currencies.
- Watch bitcoin trade live here.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — who rose to fame with Facebook's founding — told CNN Wall Street is underestimating the potential of cryptocurrency.
The two warned institutional investors are overlooking bitcoin and similar assets. The two noted that cryptocurrency retail investors have profited off recent gains while Wall Street misses out.
"It's been a retail-driven market, from day one. It still is, and a lot of people have done really well," Tyler Winklevoss said. "Wall Street's asleep at the wheel."
The twins have a history with endorsing the controversial asset class. Tyler said the two "believe in the long game" with bitcoin in a January Reddit comment, adding they "are committed as ever" to making a bitcoin exchange-traded-fund. The two even claimed in 2013 to own at least 1% of all bitcoin in existence.
"We had to invest because we were afraid of missing out. We couldn't miss out on this future," Cameron Winklevoss told CNN.
The two also addressed fears from government officials around Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency and bitcoin's use in illegal purchases. The concerns aren't "a unique problem to bitcoin or crypto," Tyler said, and are seen with fiat currencies just as often.
"Smart criminals haven't been using bitcoin because its actually very traceable," he said.
The Winklevosses announced their Gemini cryptocurrency exchange project in January 2015 with the goal of bringing regulation to the relatively lawless asset. The exchange established its own cryptocurrency — a stable coin pegged to the US dollar — and a mobile crypto-trading app in 2018.
The two explained in April they want to bring digital currencies to mainstream financial institutions, and that increased regulation is necessary for such an endeavor.
"We want to be that bridge and that on-ramp that gets the big mutual funds, hedge funds, and pension funds — all that big money — into the space," Tyler Winklevoss told Business Insider. "They are going to need a regulated bridge to do it."
Though bitcoin remains well under its December 2017 peak of about 19,000 per coin, the digital asset has surged in recent months. Bitcoin traded at $10,322.79 per coin as of 1:25 p.m. ET Monday, up about 177% year-to-date.
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