In brief:
Charlie Shrem: The second ever ASIC

Charlie Lee: Bitcoin mining machine from 2011

Bobby Lee: Bitcoin mining machine from 2011

Tyler Winklevoss: Early Bitcoin mining machine

Anthony Pompliano and Jason Williams: Bitcoin mining rig from 2015

$83,171.00
-0.39%$1,802.27
-1.51%$2.07
-0.06%$595.18
-2.19%$0.999969
0.00%$116.20
-3.02%$0.164178
-1.48%$0.65369
0.17%$0.238151
0.55%$1,799.45
-1.62%$83,060.00
-0.32%$9.59
1.34%$3.53
-7.10%$12.83
-2.43%$0.26067
-1.15%$0.999917
-0.02%$2,149.70
-2.55%$18.29
-2.66%$0.00001218
-1.46%$2.20
-7.65%$0.162525
-1.29%$83.71
0.11%$4.03
-0.26%$6.36
0.19%$306.54
0.81%$4.48
-1.54%$0.999407
-0.03%$1.00
0.03%$1,801.18
-1.56%$1,915.40
-1.70%$217.04
-0.06%$27.61
-0.77%$11.71
-5.88%$0.548914
-15.08%$5.90
-1.87%$5.03
-4.79%$1.046
-0.02%$2.50
-1.11%$0.00000685
-5.29%$46.81
-1.66%$83,157.00
-0.42%$22.01
-1.77%$33.48
-2.54%$0.095786
-1.23%$0.810163
-0.59%$0.744088
-4.48%$5.17
-0.43%$16.26
-2.14%$0.997419
0.46%$1.17
0.08%$150.11
-3.72%$4.85
8.94%$1.00
0.00%$9.45
0.49%$0.02189099
-0.71%$216.59
0.07%$83,050.00
-0.10%$2.72
-1.14%$4.04
-0.00%$3.28
-2.06%$0.064791
0.26%$0.316937
-5.12%$2.83
-3.02%$0.190947
1.69%$0.180688
0.89%$0.48088
0.86%$0.31395
0.08%$83,010.00
-0.38%$10.30
-4.16%$0.830364
2.42%$0.70996
-1.58%$0.43696
-2.34%$0.394628
1.79%$4.30
-3.73%$1,294.20
-0.99%$1,803.76
-1.43%$1.061
3.07%$1,872.54
-1.61%$0.066679
-0.98%$68.86
2.88%$0.99891
-0.16%$0.387964
-1.26%$120.82
-3.31%$0.764173
0.98%$0.583336
-2.00%$2,038.12
-1.53%$0.00001127
0.02%$1.001
0.03%$14.76
-0.44%$0.998158
0.04%$0.462432
-3.13%$8.48
-1.13%$0.999893
-0.03%$0.164785
-1.71%$0.01304286
-1.82%$0.08343
-1.15%$0.784932
-2.48%$3,119.49
-1.41%$1.00
-0.01%$0.839909
0.27%$81,878.00
-1.64%$595.33
-2.24%$1,913.74
-1.50%$0.532296
0.94%$3,114.14
-1.16%$0.651661
-0.39%$82,900.00
-0.54%$0.0150601
-0.11%$0.518204
-13.96%$0.264347
0.24%$5.97
-9.62%$1.001
0.00%$0.106855
0.35%$39.07
-0.47%$0.00000063
-1.57%$1.98
-4.49%$0.166231
-0.28%$30.84
-1.06%$0.37135
-1.31%$148.90
-2.90%$1,875.19
-1.58%$1.83
-2.17%$1.001
0.10%$0.0000553
-2.46%$1.94
21.88%$0.999462
0.03%$1.77
-3.25%$3.13
5.07%$15.08
-2.00%$2.77
-2.27%$0.998525
-0.04%$0.01020103
0.64%$127.89
-3.07%$0.070328
-2.38%$0.132275
-2.92%$0.617113
0.66%$1.00
0.05%$80,997.00
-1.63%$5.99
-10.18%$1.00
-0.02%$1.00
-0.00%$0.241906
0.60%$27.49
0.61%$0.447482
10.80%$0.00482336
3.52%$0.443118
-9.28%$2.73
-2.03%$0.400683
-1.55%$0.464137
2.91%$1,913.82
-1.41%$0.00000043
-0.45%$15.16
-3.59%$83,119.00
-0.37%$0.164246
-1.65%$83,721.00
-0.33%$0.66752
-1.96%$0.155498
36.23%$0.081331
0.05%$1.086
0.64%$0.999957
-0.01%$45.46
-1.20%$110.55
0.01%$1,801.90
-1.46%$0.137701
-1.19%$0.088134
3.99%$1,801.18
-1.52%$0.04161495
1.85%$1.12
-2.10%$1,801.53
-1.46%$0.387615
-0.33%$0.00001945
-0.26%$1.11
0.96%$5.85
-0.85%$0.00660832
5.02%$82,904.00
-0.65%$0.561956
-3.22%$0.18255
-1.17%$1,878.39
-1.61%$0.446141
-0.81%$0.999068
-0.00%$0.0065649
-1.38%$1.00
0.07%$0.817505
-0.98%$4.75
1.58%$0.191202
1.74%$2.98
9.72%$0.346396
-2.30%$1,826.30
-1.13%$1,793.01
-2.29%$1.001
-0.10%$0.00005936
-1.12%$0.00378978
6.44%$0.03142431
-0.40%$0.00000151
-9.57%$1.45
-2.18%$0.03069506
-1.51%$0.0048297
-0.82%$116.97
-0.92%$0.526833
-5.43%$0.00898845
-0.49%$0.368784
-9.51%$0.999579
-0.00%$0.999449
-0.04%$83,295.00
0.94%$1,773.60
-2.18%$0.232944
0.67%$1.14
-2.48%$1,802.25
-1.45%$2.85
-2.74%$1.14
-3.73%$82,902.00
-0.38%$21.80
-0.55%$0.600489
-1.89%$3,099.70
-0.96%$0.51978
0.05%$0.220355
-2.74%$0.184808
-1.75%$1,889.50
-2.29%$1,971.61
-1.52%$3.16
-6.14%$0.00274534
-12.39%$0.03081036
2.24%$14.98
-2.92%$0.117653
-1.10%$1,958.85
-1.52%$21.62
1.91%$0.237145
-1.61%$0.981468
4.44%$0.00307298
2.80%$1,669.82
-0.34%$0.101099
-0.71%$0.03288606
-0.07%$1,797.82
-1.79%$0.061495
-0.63%$0.649518
-3.77%$0.01117645
0.41%$0.514738
-1.60%$0.477356
-7.43%$0.00209992
-2.70%$0.998328
0.05%$0.999699
0.01%$0.00034997
-16.74%$82,086.00
-2.28%$1.00
0.01%$0.00443674
-1.93%$0.02684812
-2.55%$0.999582
0.02%$18.29
-2.70%Reading
Role
Untold Stories Podcast | Founder at CryptoIQ | Founder at Bitcoin Foundation
Location
Greater New York City Area
Education
City University of New York-Brooklyn College
Current Project
Untold Stories, CryptoIQ, Bitcoin Foundation,
Previous Projects
Decentral, Jaxx Blockchain Interface, BitInstant, Changelly
It's been over 11 years since Bitcoin's genesis block was mined by Satoshi Nakamoto. In that time, the network has expanded and thousands of new miners have entered the fray. But it all started with just a handful of libertarians and tech enthusiasts.
These pioneers are now legends in the industry. Some command crypto events with thousands in attendance, others have legions of diehard fans on social media that listen to their every blog post or podcast. Now they’re taking a look back at where it all began.
"That's the second ASIC to ever be used on the #Bitcoin network, EVER," Shrem told Decrypt.
Playing a leading role in Bitcoin's nascent rise, Shrem founded both the Bitcoin foundation and one of the first-ever Bitcoin exchanges—the now-defunct BitInstant. After a tussle with the law, following claims of money laundering, Shrem shook off the stigma, founding several crypto-centric start-ups and a popular podcast, called Untold Stories.
Lee has been in the Bitcoin industry longer than most. He dabbled in Bitcoin mining in early 2011.
"I found a photo of one from 7/16/2011. This is 6 graphics cards connected to one motherboard via risers," Lee told Decrypt.
But he ended up creating a clone of Bitcoin, one that would run faster and, in theory, cheaper. In October 2011, while working as a software engineer for Google, he created Litecoin—dubbed the silver to Bitcoin's gold.
Today, Litecoin has a $3 billion market cap. Not that Lee has any coins, he famously sold them in December 2017, at the height of the Bitcoin bull run.
"My first Bitcoin mining rig from summer of 2011," Lee told Decrypt.
Crypto runs in the family, it seems. Charlie Lee's brother, Bobby Lee, is the founder of BTCC, which was the first Bitcoin exchange in China. Bobby has since founded hardware wallet company Ballet. Read our review of his wallet here.
"That's a miner from Bitcoin 2013," Gemini CEO Tyler Winklevoss told Decrypt.
While Winklevoss admitted he hadn't dabbled in mining, he did provide Decrypt with a slice of Bitcoin history—an early Bitcoin miner pictured at the Bitcoin 2013 conference.
Is the price of Bitcoin hard coded to pump every four years? Some market analysts believe so. It’s a theory that stems from Bitcoin’s so-called “stock-to-flow” model—an economic concept that is more commonly used to measure abundance (or availability) of precious metals such as gold and silver. The theory is centered around the Bitcoin halving, set for mid-May, which will see Bitcoin’s mining rewards cut down the middle and therefore slow down the supply of Bitcoin and create greater scarcity. A...
One-half of the renowned Winklevii, Tyler—along with his twin brother Cameron—has been involved in the industry for many years. Commonly known for their legal scuffles against Facebook's Mark Zuckerburg, the twins took their $11 million settlement and reinvested it into Bitcoin around 2013. They originally worked with Shrem at BitInstant, alongside ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees, but parted ways over strategy disagreements.
The pair eventually founded several companies, including cryptocurrency exchange Gemini. The exchange saw $82 million in trading volume in the last 24 hours, and its US dollar stablecoin Gemini Dollar has a $5.8 million market cap.
Bitcoin bull and partner at Morgan Creek Digital, Anthony 'Pomp' Pompliano, started his crypto journey a little later than most on our list.
In 2015, while working as a product manager for Facebook, Pomp started mining Bitcoin and Ethereum alongside his future venture capital colleague, Jason Williams.
"Throw back to me and Pomp's first crypto mine circa 2015," Williams tweeted.
Pomp also writes a daily crypto letter and hosts the Pomp Podcast, where he recently interviewed Bitcoin skeptic and billionaire Mark Cuban, who, it turns out, now owns some Bitcoin. Aren’t those Bitcoin OGs relentless?
The Babylon Foundation, an entity tied to the Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon, released tokenomic details for its BABY token Thursday—and revealed an airdrop for early users. The Foundation will provide 6% or 600 million BABY, the Babylon Genesis Network’s native governance token, to five reward groups and early supporters as part of its airdrop. The vast majority of tokens (585 million) set aside for the airdrop campaign will be provided to those who have staked Bitcoin with Babylon. “Tokens...
Paul Atkins, President Trump’s nominee to become the next Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, passed a key vote from the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. Following the 13-11 vote, in which all Democrats on the Committee opposed Trump’s pick, Atkins’ nomination will now proceed to the Senate floor for a full vote. Atkins is an SEC veteran who previously served as an agency commissioner under President George W. Bush. He is widely expected to institute favorable policies for...
Monday marked the end of a painful quarter for Ethereum, as the network’s native asset’s so-called burn rate fizzled amid one of its worst performances in recent memory. The metric, which tracks the rate of Ethereum removed from circulation, recently hit its lowest level since August 2021, a nagging concern among investors that’s “weighed on Ethereum’s market performance,” according to the crypto market maker Wintermute. Last week, around 53 ETH was burned per day, the firm said. Meanwhile, ETH’...