Bitcoin's Plunge Turns the Winklevoss Twins Into Ex-Billionaires

(Bloomberg) -- What Bitcoin giveth, Bitcoin taketh away.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twin brothers who became billionaires after the run-up in the price of Bitcoin and other digital assets toward the end of last year, have seen their fortunes drop 37 percent in the past month as the cryptocurrency plunged.

Bitcoin dipped below $10,000 Wednesday, extending a rout that has sliced $443 million from the net worth of each brother, leaving them with $739 million apiece, at least on paper, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

Bitcoin dropped 10 percent to $9,544.09 as of 11 a.m. in New York, the first time it traded below the $10,000 threshold since Dec. 1, according to consolidated pricing data collated by Bloomberg. It peaked at $19,511 on Dec. 18.

Still, the twins may not be too concerned. They intend to hold their Bitcoin for the long-term and expect it to “appreciate by 10 to 20 times its current value,” Cameron Winklevoss said in a Dec. 8 interview with Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Metcalf in New York at tmetcalf7@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Robert LaFranco at rlafranco@bloomberg.net, Peter Eichenbaum

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