Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal, and Redemption

I had to stop reading this book half-way due to the overwhelming buttering up and ass-kissing of the Winklevoss twins. I am not sure how much the author received from the twins to write this book but it is so far from the truth you'd think Fox News has some competition in that space. The author makes it seem like the Winklevoss twins were responsible for the rise of bitcoin, that they are some type of geniuses, WTF man? What a waste! I did enjoy the "Accidental Billionaires" book Mezrich wrote but this one is a "reputation improvement campaign" for the Winklevoss twins - you know who they are - dumb jocks who live off of old money and dream about being future "tech entrepreneurs" and were screwed over by Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. If you will excuse me, I will go and throw up now.

Mezrich has clearly drunk the whole pitcher of Bitcoin koolaid. This book reads as an infomercial on bitcoin and the Vinklevii so it's interesting if you are a full on convert. I am not so I LOLed my way through many parts of the book. Also, though Mezrich paints the Vinklevii as super smart and hard working and moral all of that, there was literally no evidence in the book to back up that claim.

I thought this was a fascinating book. <br />Although I have heard quite a bit lately about 'bitcoins' and cryptocurrencies, I really didn't understand any of it and actually had little interest in learning about it. However, this story drew me in. Not only did it enlighten me about this financial world, its radical new technology and its unusual characters but it presented it in a way that read like griping fiction. It's a story that could impact us all and the end isn't in sight yet.<br />I won an advanced copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review. <br />

I did not read Accidental Billionaires before I read this book. I honestly had no idea that these books had any relation to one another. I picked up the book because I thought that I would learn more about bitcoin and how it works.<br /><br />This book felt like a love letter to the Winklevoss twins and a hate letter to Mark Zuckerberg. The first 20 percent of the book was about how Zuckerberg "f*cked them in the ear". I could have done without this whole section of the book. It could have simply been Zuckerberg paid them off and they chose to invest in bitcoin.<br /><br />I wanted to read this book because I wanted to learn more about what bitcoin actually is and because bitcoin mining is a huge deal in my little part of Washington state. In the end, I am not sure that I understand bitcoin much more and why it is so valuable. Learning about major players in the crypto-currency arena was interesting. I think I will be doing some more reading.

From the New York Times, bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires (the inspiration for The Social Network movie) comes the fascinating story of Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.<br /><br />I was aching to read Bitcoin Billionaires, even contacting the publisher directly for a review copy. I’ve not read Ben Mezrich’s previous book Accidental Billionaires, but I watched and loved The Social Network movie and even felt a tad sorry for the privileged, handsome, smart Winklevoss twins. I was definitely intrigued by what happened and how Zuckerberg played them and won. Even though the twins hardly lost with their multi-million dollar payout.<br /><br />How disappointed I was when I started reading! The overarching story of redemption in Bitcoin Billionaires is not about Tyler and Cameron at all. Rather, author Ben Mezrich seems to have published this book as some kind of apology for The Social Network. Trying to reverse the way the twins were portrayed as Harvard jocks who rowed well and had fantastic hair. The book isn’t balanced and was so cringey at times with its fawning prose that I very sadly had to stop reading. It almost read like a piece of fan-fiction.<br /><br />A great example early on is when Mezrich refers to the twins Olympic rowing prowess.<br /><br />“Pull, goddam it! Pull!”<br /><br />Every cell in Tyler’s body surged as he put his weight against the oar. He groaned as his broad shoulders opened like the wings of a bird, his frame stretching into the stroke with near perfect precision. Directly in front of him, Cameron moved in parallel, two parts of a coordinated well-oiled machine. From afar they were a duet of smooth, controlled motion, but up close, inside the carved-out, fibreglass shell slicing across the crystal water, it was all sinew and sweat and grime, knots of muscle rising and falling beneath skin bruised and blistered and torn. – Bitcoin Billionaires<br /><br />See what I mean? It’s almost erotic!<br /><br />If a movie is made about the Winklevoss twins return to glory with Bitcoin, I will be sure to watch it. Their story still intrigues me, however, I was expecting a book balanced in its delivery told through the lens of an experienced biographer rather than that of a teenage crush. Or, maybe the twins orchestrated a favourable biography for themselves in the light of the Social Network fallout? Who knows. Either way, I was sorely disappointed.<br /><br />Bitcoin Billionaires could have been a compelling contemporary human story, but instead was completely lost in the authors delivery. A wasted PR opportunity for two incredibly smart, albeit Harvard privileged men who are owning the crypto world. They are doing something right, this just wasn’t the right way to tell it.<br /><br />

What a ride! <br /><br />I always read <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/2850.Ben_Mezrich" title="Ben Mezrich" rel="noopener">Ben Mezrich</a> new books, this one is good!

So, how many bitcoins did the “Winklevii” send to Mezrich in exchange for this kiss-ass redemption story? He did not paint the twins in this manner in The Accidental Billionaires. One wonders. ? Anyway, that aside, the writing is good, the story is compelling, but I still can’t wrap my head around the purpose of cryptocurrency (Bitcoin in particular). It just seems like a complex and volatile game of skirting regulations.

I'm still not clear on what BitCoin is. I know it's still a bit controversial and I can't afford it. This book was well written. It made me feel like a fly on the wall for all the of the major events with the Winklevoss twins, and major players. I highly recommend as it has made me more curious about this. Also, if my mother is asking about it I should probably study up! Although, if mommy has enough money to want more information maybe I should ask her to buy me some.

<br />Meh. Being non-fiction, I was hoping to learn something, but I didn't. <br /><br />The "heroes" of this story are the Winklevoss twins (the rowers who sued Mark Zuckerburg for stealing their idea). This story has no like-able characters. <br /><br />One part amazing, 35 parts filler. <br /><br />It had one amazing chapter on the elaborate way they secured the crypto keys to their bitcoin wallet. They bought several laptops and a printer as disposable one-time-use items. One laptop to download the Bitcoin software and put the program on a USB. Plug that USB into another laptop that has never and will never be plugged into the internet (Wifi/Bluetooth cards removed before ever turning it on). Then an elaborate process of generating the keys to their bitcoin account. Printing them off in fragments onto several pieces of paper. Then they destroyed the laptops and printers. Finally they flew all over the world hiding the shards of their key in safety deposit boxes all over the world. That even IF some heist found them all they wouldn't know how to put them together. <br /><br />Every other chapter was filler. <br /><br />Filed under the category "garbage" for me. <br />

Bitcoin Billionaires is one of the few books that talks about Bitcoin from the perspective of known personalities (with a non libertarian background) - Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss aka Winklevii. It gives a perspective that is not as concentrated on economics, technicals, and hype that most crypto books have. <br /><br />From the very beginning, it tells a well-known story (with surprising insights) about the Zuckerberk-Winklevii Facebook battle. The book thus intertwines their battle with their discovery of Bitcoin and their life in crypto.<br /><br />The book provides a story that will be enjoyed by all audiences. It’s definitely one of my top reads that I would recommend to anyone, not just those investing in crypto. <br />