It's been a funny old year for Bitcoin, the digital currency - or cryptocurrency, as it's sometimes known - that uses pretty impressive encryption techniques to verify the transfer of funds.
After lying almost worthless for years and years, it blasted through to $11,395 (£8,450) recently to hit a record high. Former JP Morgan equity strategist, Tom Lee, even claimed that Bitcoin's value will soar to $25,000 (£19,000) per unit within five years.
With all this hype there have been some haters, with some warning about its threat to financial stability and potential for criminal exploitation. But it's been very good news for Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss - yep, those ones who sued Mark Zuckerberg, claiming he stole their idea of Facebook, the ones played by Armie Hammer in The Social Network, and the ones who do all the rowing - having just become the world's first bitcoin billionaires.
Credit: PA
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The twins, who attended Harvard University with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, made a $11million (£8m) bet on Bitcoin over four years ago, which ballooned over 10,000 percent after last week's price surge. It's said to be the first billion-dollar return made by a cryptocurrency investor, marking a huge landmark for the controversial asset.
Its recent rise has made many people very rich, even making millionaires out of some of its early backers - though Tyler and Cameron can claim that they've been made the richest, which isn't a bad brag to have to your name.
However, the Winklevoss twins aren't the only savvy fellas to have capitalised on the rise in the value of Bitcoin. One 18-year-old-student, Erik Finman, suddenly found himself worth a massive $1m ($1.3m) thanks to the Bitcoin business, having invested in the coins that, just seven years ago, were practically not even worth the shit on your shoe.
It all began when the school drop-out (he quit when he was 15 years old) received a $1,000 (£790) gift from his grandmother, which he spent on Bitcoin. He sold that, two years later, for $100,000 (£79,000). He set up an online education company, called Botangle, in 2015 and was offered either another $100,000 or 300 bitcoins to sell the company. He chose Bitcoin, when it was worth just $200 per coin.
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Congrats on all being so filthy rich, guys!
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: Billionaire, Bitcoin, World News, News, Money, Technology