ERIK Voorhees founded and later sold Bitcoin gambling website Satoshi Dice for 126,315 Bitcoins back in 2013, which was the first big cryptocurrency acquisition.
But what is the story behind Voorhees and what is his net worth now?
Who is Erik Voorhees?
Erik Voorhees was born in 1985 in Colorado and graduated in 2007 from the University of Puget Sound.
Voorhees went on to found multiple crypto-related companies including Coinapult, which transfers Bitcoin via SMS and email, Bitcoin gambling website Satoshi Dice, and ShapeShift.io, a cryptocurrency exchange which allows users to instantly exchange cryptocurrencies.
In July 2013, Voorhees sold Satoshi Dice to an anonymous investor for 126,315 Bitcoins, roughly $11.5 million at the time. This became known as the first big Bitcoin acquisition.
READ MORE ON 24/7 CRYPTO HERE
ShapeShift.io was founded on July 1, 2014.
At first, users could send one cryptocurrency and receive another instantly, with no identity verification or signup required.
The anonymous nature of ShapeShift made it one of the most popular cryptocurrency sites on the web.
But since September 2018 regulators have forced the exchange to perform KYC and AML checks on all customers.
READ MORE: Cryptocurrency during a recession: What to expect
A KYC check verifies someone is who they say they are while an AML check screens people against sanctions, PEP lists, and watch lists.
Authorities feared that cryptocurrency obtained via illegal activities could have been moved to different blockchains, making the funds much harder to trace.
As a result, ShapeShift lost thousands of customers.
Voorhees currently lives in Panama City, Panama and is a frequent speaker at conferences.
He believes the monetary system has essential problems and he’s actively involved in the creation of cryptocurrency regulation.
What is Erik Voorhees’ net worth?
Erik Voorhees’ exact net worth is unknown but it could be in the billions after he sold Satoshi Dice for 126,315 Bitcoins.
If he kept hold of all 126,315 Bitcoins, today they’d be worth more than $2 billion.
He has also received millions in funding for ShapeShift.
In March 2015, the company received a $525,000 seed-stage investment from Roger Ver and Barry Silbert.
Another $1.6 million was raised in September 2015, from investors including Digital Currency Group, Bitfinex, Bitcoin Capital and Mardal Investments.
While in March 2017, ShapeShift raised another $10.4 million from both US and international venture capital firms.
