Daniel Cawrey over at CoinDesk suggests that tying a big name to an idea is one way to elevate it in public consciousness. Thus, here are some faces to attach to the Bitcoin narrative.
First are the Winklevoss twins, famous for their early involvement in Facebook. The Winklevii are incredibly bullish on Bitcoin, having stated on a number of occasions that we haven’t even approached the currency high mark in value.
The brothers, Tyler and Cameron, are currently setting up a Bitcoin exchange trust fund, pending among other things compliance issues. This is interesting because they seem set on bringing Bitcoin to the mainstream, or at least to Wall Street.
Allowing investors and brokerages such a traditional means of accessing Bitcoins could legitimize the currency further on Wall Street and ease many investors’ concerns about the currency’s stability.
To be sure, the brothers also have a substantial stake themselves in Bitcoin, owning together at least 100,000 Bitcoin, reports indicate.
Tyler Winklevoss is on record calling Bitcoin “gold 2.0.”
Peter Thiel — PayPal founder, BitPay investor and outspoken champion of personal liberties — has gone back and forth on the currency.
Thiel told an audience in Germany that he puts Bitcoin’s chance of success at about 20%, but this was due to outside pressure than flaws within the currency itself.
Thiel also says Bitcoin has the potential to change the world. The two stances are not mutually exclusive, of course, but to everyday people browsing headlines, it clouds the narrative a bit.
And it’s these everyday readers and spenders who will have to push forward the Bitcoin economy. Payment gateways and exchanges will eventually require large-scale adoption for the currency to really tip (if that’s something the Bitcoin community wants, which is itself contentious).