Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss (LR), co-founders of crypto exchange Gemini, on stage at the 2021 Bitcoin convention in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the billionaire twins best known for suing Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly stealing their Facebook idea, are investing millions of dollars in a small English soccer club.
The twins, who now run crypto exchange Gemini, announced on Friday that they had invested $4.5 million in bitcoin in Real Bedford Football Club (RBFC), making it the “first football club powered by Bitcoin “, according to a press release published Friday.
RBFC, a semi-professional non-league club from Bedford, England, was purchased in 2022 by Bitcoin investor and podcaster Peter McCormack. The latest deal will see the Winklevoss twins become co-owners of RBFC, alongside long-time Bedford resident McCormack.
“There was this alignment of values since we were all early bitcoiners,” Cameron Winklevoss told CNBC, explaining his decision to become a co-owner of RBFC with McCormack. “Being early in Bitcoin is the ultimate asset test. What it shows is that you have to have vision, have conviction and be persistent.”
“You have to hold on in good times and bad,” he added. “Any journey like this will be fraught with challenges. There will be setbacks and difficulties.”
Big projects
McCormack said he chose the Winklevoss twins because he was looking for a partner or partners who could help him invest in infrastructure to grow the club. He plans to use part of the investment to secure funding to build a new training center, which he estimates will cost around £1.6 million ($2 million).
However, he does not intend to sell bitcoin to do this. Bitcoin will instead serve as a “rainy day” fund.
“The smart solution is to hold the bitcoin, borrow books to pay for it, and then the training center pays for itself over a period of seven years because it is also part of a club that makes money,” he said. McCormack said.
The Winklevoss twins are not the first American celebrities to have invested money in little-known British football clubs. Actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought small Welsh football club Wrexham AFC for £2 million ($2.5 million) in February 2021.
cnbc
