Despite their rocky relationship with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the Winklevoss twins believe in Facebook’s bet on cryptocurrency, the two said in an interview with CNBC. They have always been vocal in their support of crypto and now they’ve come out in support of Facebook’s Libra.
″[Libra] is very positive for crypto, a company the stature of Facebook talking about crypto currencies demystifies the word and makes people feel a lot more comfortable,” said Tyler Winklevoss. The two brothers reportedly also had discussions with Facebook before the release of Libra whitepaper.
In the interview, the twins also said that they expect many tech industry heavy weights to launch their own type of digital coins in the coming years. “Our prediction is every FANG [Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google] company will have some sort of crypto currency project within the next two years,” Tyler said.
When asked for their advice to Mark Zuckerberg and his team as they prepare for their senate hearing on Libra, Tyler said that they need to work with regulators. He shared his own experience on the matter as he talked about their cryptocurrency exchange Gemini and how they handled their bout with regulators. He said:
“You know, we definitely went through the front door, and we tried to educate the regulators and shape the regulation in a thoughtful manner because if you get the regulation wrong it can stifle innovation, but the right regulation allows for innovation to flourish, and we think we have achieved that right balance with New York.”
Whether the two plan to use Libra or offer it on their crypto exchange is still in the air. “We will keep evaluating,” Cameron said, “but at Gemini, we ask for permission and not forgiveness.”
Gemini Dollar Vs. Facebook Libra
The twins launched their own stablecoin, the Gemini Dollar (GUSD), which is similar to Facebook Libra in that it is also pegged to a stable fiat currency. When asked if Libra would pose competition to the Gemini Dollar, Tyler said that the two are as different as they are similar. While both are stablecoins which are pegged to stable assets to keep their prices stable, the Gemini Dollar is a one-to-one peg to the dollar and Libra is pegged to a basket of currencies.
“We actually think it’s a very interesting trade because Libra as we know it is a basket … it is tied to assets that are stable whereas Gemini dollar is a one-to-one peg so we think there is a use case for both types of instruments, they are not apples to apples,” said Tyler.
In the same interview, the Winklevoss twins reasserted their belief that Bitcoin is gold 2.0. They said the same thing in December 2017, right before the cryptocurrency crashed.
