Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal and Redemption

by Ben Mezrich

He was going to prison—for selling Bitcoin.

After the fall of Mt. Gox, the twins had become convinced that Bitcoin desperately needed a new wave of entrepreneurs and companies that could sweep away the broken pieces of that first wave—the Charlies, the Karpeleses.

The twins believed that for an exchange to be successful, it needed four fundamental pillars seared into its DNA: licensing, compliance, security, and technology.

They didn’t just have their skin in the game—they were all in, down to the bones.

His brother was ready with a line of his own: “A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars … in bitcoin.”