American venture capitalist Ben Horowitz makes an interesting Bitcoin bet

By VCPOST Staff Reporter

Feb 07, 2014 04:32 PM EST

Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz has made an interesting Bitcoin bet with economics writer Felix Salmon, according to TechCrunch.

Horowitz has invested in various bitcoin startups. Salmon, on the other hand, is a strong bitcoin skeptic. The two economic figures made a bet regarding the status of Bitcoin as a payment method by 2019. At the beginning of that year, Planet Money on NPR will conduct a survey among a sample of Americans, the report explained.

Jacob Goldstein, host of Planet Money, said: "If 10 percent or more say they have used bitcoin to buy something in the past month, Ben wins. If it's fewer than 10 percent, Felix wins." Planet Money host Jacob Goldstein wrote.

The winner is awarded with a pair of alpaca socks. This is the first item ever bought using bitcoins, the report stated.

Salmon stressed on the volatility of the Bitcoin currency. As an example, he recounted the person who sold all his bitcoins for a pair of Alpaca socks. In 2009, someone shelled out 10,000 BTC to buy a pizza. Today, that pizza would have been worth $7,280,000. Still, Horowitz remains bullish on the future status of the Bitcoin. He expects the currency to be the de facto online payment method by 2019, TechCrunch reported.

© 2024 VCPOST, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics