Bitcoin Forum

Why Billionaire Investor Reid Hoffman Is Betting Big on Bitcoin

Reid Hoffman has an expert eye for promising tech startups. The LinkedIn chairman and co-founder's early stakes in Facebook, Airbnb and Dropbox prove he's able to see the next big thing before most of us even know what it is -- and it’s paid off for him time and again.

These days, the so-called “startup whisperer” is placing his bets on Bitcoin. As a full-time partner at venture capital firm Greylock Partners, he claims his primary focus is to invest in “world-class entrepreneurs with new categories of ideas with the possibility of massive scale.” One of those entrepreneurs is Wences Casares, co-founder of Xapo, an ambitious, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bitcoin wallet and storage startup. With Hoffman leading the charge, Greylock invested $20 million in Xapo last year. 

“Bitcoin has the potential to be a massively disruptive technology,” Hoffman wrote in a post announcing the investment last July. “It is the leading digital currency and it’s growing fast.”

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244859

The more these billionaires "invest", the more the price crashes. WTF.

Sounds like the smart money is buying near the bottom and many smaller players are dumping into the small rallies. That is how major bottoms mature prior to epic rallies.  :)

Most of these guys invest for quick profit. I highly doubt some of them are staying, so they are selling as much as they are buying. They're still toying with Bitcoin, as these are waters unknown for them and I bet they aren't willing to take many risks.

Maybe I'm wrong and most of these guys believe in Bitcoin (sure hope I'm wrong). Only time will tell!

So they are buying at market rates, incurring massive slippage, then immediately selling at market rates, at a loss all the way down? Brilliant. Each headline should read "Billionaire (name here) is a fucking moron who lost millions on BTC within a matter of minutes!"

Reid Hoffman with investment,this seems to bring fresh air to the bitcoin making more people to trust again bitcoin

They wouldn't be billionaires if they made investments at all-time highs.

The price crash is due to coin oversupply. The investments are not big enough to fill the gap. The Bitcoin scene has cooled down a bit for the past 10-12 months. These small investments will not be having much of an impact.

I think you might be wrong with that comment... He actually stated in the article that he invested for the long haul. He also invested in very successful companies, when they were still in their infancy stage.

A true investor will have a good eye for a good investment opportunity and he will exit when the price is right for the picking... the object is not to have a emotional investment, but to make good money and to spot a winner.

The positive spinoff of that, would be that other less experienced investors, follow their lead, and more people invest in the same technology. 

Well he is a billionaire so he probably won't get burned if he loses a couple thousands in bitcoin investing. Bitcoin doesn't need billionaires and millionaires investing in it, it needs the typical Joe investing in it. The 99% should invest in bitcoin to make bitcoin HUGE.

I'll welcome investment from anyone. Right now, Bitcoin is in its infancy. We can't be choosers. I'll welcome investment, even if its is from the 'Ndrangheta or the Solntsevskaya Bratva.

If you're a billionaire and you're only investing pennies into BTC, that fails to meet even the most lax newsworthy bar. Just as worthy as each and every person on earth having their daily bowel movement make the news.


And they won't be billionaires for much longer if they are making legitimate investments as the price keeps going down. But no, apparently they're only investing pennies (NOT LEGITIMATE), so fuck it, I probably have more BTC than they do!

That is almost right. But guys like Reid Hoffman and his capital are needed to build the infrastructure which is needed to make average joe come in.

I think it's always news when investors of his ilk get involved in bitcoin as I think it well help bitcoin gain legitimacy with the general public.


Well I hope his luck continues, but investors always end up getting involved with at least one bad egg or failed concept/idea. I hope for our sake it isn't bitcoin  ;D.

Can confirm this, ever since the price crashed I've been getting in as much as possible, never buy at high markets no matter how tempting it is, you'll set yourself up to lose a lot of money, if the price spikes this year as much as I think it will I'll be making quite a bit of money.

Yes this is what I was saying. Guys like him invest in startups to support the growth of Bitcoin's infrastructure. Better infrastructure in all the way means better chance of higher adoption, what means higher market cap, what means higher price for each Bitcoin.

But why shouldn't he also hold a nice small amount of BTC direct as well? In this way he could profit twice. Making a startup successful, than selling his stake and also having some BTC which increased in price.