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Virtual Billions

The Genius, the Drug Lord, and the Ivy League Twins behind the Rise of Bitcoin

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
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, using Bitcoin to fuel online sale of drugs, hacking services, counterfeit money, and assassinations; and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Harvard graduates, successful litigants vs. Facebook, world-class Olympic rowers, and Bitcoin entrepreneurs who own 1 percent of all bitcoins in existence.

Equal parts The Social Network, Sherlock Holmes, and Breaking Bad, this absorbing narrative tells the stories of the reclusive genius who waged a one-man war against the global banking system (and he's winning); the quiet and affable computer geek who, until his arrest, profited handsomely from Silk Road, his online drug superstore; and the multitalented Harvard twins, who made a fortune from an intellectual-property suit against Mark Zuckerberg, and now are the chief promoters of Bitcoin as "the next big thing."

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 living and breathing, passionate and paranoid insiders who made it all happen.

From the Hardcover edition.
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    • Kirkus

      February 15, 2016
      Enthusiastic overview of the "virtual currency" known as Bitcoin, focused on its complex technology and the outsized personalities who have advanced it. Geissinger is a technical writer and contributor of fiction to literary journals, and both specialties inform his debut. His account of bitcoin's rise is thoughtful and generally precise yet sometimes convoluted, with frequent digressions on topics such as the histories of fiat currency and libertarian philosophy. He first explains the operational parameters of bitcoin by offering several levels of detail, explaining, "a lot of what makes Bitcoin new and interesting is rooted in the details [yet] knowledge of the nitty-gritty isn't required to use or transmit bitcoins." The author establishes solid ground in explaining for neophytes the radical aspects of bitcoin, which derive from cryptographic principles and utilize both individual "e-wallets" and a "public ledger" of all transactions. "Without something tangible to steal, he writes, "it can't be stolen." However, Geissinger's main focus is on individuals who have propelled the stealthy narrative of bitcoin's development, starting with its secretive, enigmatic founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, who may be a real person, a pseudonym, or even a group of people. More notoriously, Ross Ulbricht founded an online hub for illicit drug sales, Silk Road, and became ensnared in a self-made fantasy of libertarian independence, fueled by bitcoins, resulting in conviction on many charges: "Silk Road [became] not just a marketplace for voluntary transactions but a philosophical rebuke to heavy-handed and ever-increasing statism." Contrastingly, the comparably fortunate Winklevoss brothers (of Facebook infamy) may yet bring the virtual currency out of the shadows: "their relatively early investment in the currency has already paid off in millions...[they] are mainstreaming Bitcoin." Unsurprisingly (given the recent collapse of some bitcoin "exchanges"), the youthful hypercapitalists are now advocating increased regulation of bitcoin, which the author concludes will accelerate the cybercurrency's eventual economic impact. Sprawling and sometimes unruly, Geissinger's narrative still offers a perceptive early look at the volatile present and seemingly inevitable future of "crypto-currency."

      COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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