When you signed up for the Daily Bits, I promised you the occasional rant. Here’s one about the clever new proprietary bitcoin price index you might have heard about, which as it turns out, is neither very clever nor proprietary: the Winkdex℠.
Let me start by saying that I have nothing personal against the Winklevoss™ twins. Seriously. Their name (and I do mean name, singular – just check out the bios on their new website) runs through my head only when I come across a new bitcoin story where they are quoted or interviewed.
I don’t mind their chronic self-promotion because as both an entrepreneur and blogger, I understand the fine line between braggadocio and marketing. I’m not jealous of their wealth or fame because as long as I have money for rent and beer, I don’t need much to be happy. I’m not even a hater when it comes to their history with Facebook. I would have sued Mark Zuckerberg, too, if I hired him and he screwed me like he did them. (Well, the first time anyway.)
No, none of that bothers me. What does bother me is that the Winklevii™ like to make everything about themselves. And in the process, they have a tendency to make Bitcoin look like a joke.
There are many problems with their new Winkdex℠ Bitcoin price index. It isn’t clever or funny. It isn’t good branding. It isn’t innovative or proprietary. And it isn’t going to make Bitcoin or the twins’ own Bitcoin ETF look any more reputable.
Let’s start with the obvious: the name is terrible. It reeks of a perverse combination of the Winkledink™ twins apparent need to take credit for singlehandedly bringing Bitcoin to the Wall Street community, and an interest in reminding people that they are celebrities (for mostly the wrong reasons) and should be recognized as such. (You can almost see Cameron™ waking up from the top bunk and suggesting the name Winkdex℠, then Tyler™ running over and high-fiving him, or Winklevii-fiving™ him, for 45 minutes while they submitted the trademark application.)
Even under the best case scenario, where they thought the name was cute, the Winkle-dos™ are guilty of gross negligence when it comes to sanity checking their name. GigaOm’s headline told readers “don’t laugh” at the “terrible name”, CNN Money clarified that “no, really,” this was a real thing, and bitcoiners everywhere were forced to just shake their heads and bite their tongues about the patent stupidity of the Winkdex℠ name.
Why does this fire me up? A lot of people come up with stupid names, right? That’s no reason to be mean.
Well, if the Winklevazzi™ were running a joke shop or a media company or just about anything else, the Winkdex℠ would probably be ok. But we are talking about people’s money here. A lame self-congratulatory name doesn’t inspire investor confidence when it is tied to two twenty-somethings whose claim to fame and wealth is entirely related to litigation.
Do these guys really think that they would have lacked media coverage or ETF buyers if they called their index the “Winklevoss Price Index™”? I’m willing to concede that theWinkdex℠ brand did attract more eyeballs, but I am also willing to bet that any incrementalmedia coverage was likely negative. Today, they don’t look like polished white shoe executives. They look like junior varsity call-ups playing professional investors because of their windfall gains. If I’m a professional investor or a non-sucker retail investor, I’m going with SecondMarket or Coinbase for my bitcoin investments.
Which of course brings up the other problem I have with the Winkdex℠: its non-innovation. Although the twins claim that the index will be published on a “continuous basis using a patent-pending mathematical formula developed for such purpose”, it’s really not rocket science, and any issued patent would be more likely to reflect federal incompetence than Winklebright™ novelty. The formula is a volume-weighted exponential moving average using the existing exchanges that aren’t in China or named Mt. Gox. The trading calculations behind it are basic. The selection of referenceable exchanges is subjective. Let’s patent it!
People have already called me a jealous hater and questioned my position to criticize two men who have “done so much for the industry”. Hold it right there, champs. Bitcoin has done as much (if not far more) for the Twinkskies™ than vice versa. Moreover, they didn’t create anything of real value (I still don’t understand why an investor would use their ETF, given bitcoin is a 24 hour tradable currency), they financed it with legal gains and not true grit and hustle, and now they are making one of my sizable personal investments look like a joke.
You know what CoinDesk called their Bitcoin Price Index? They called it the motherf*cking CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. Not the Coindex, not the bitcoindex, not the Satoshindex, and definitely not the Khandex (after founder Shakil Khan).
When someone takes a crap on bitcoin’s image, I am going to get frustrated and speak my mind because I’m trying to start companies and realize some investment gains in the industry. For better of for worse, these guys are the public face to Bitcoin as a real-world investable asset, and they’ve done a disservice to the community they are supposed to promote.
Whether any public bitcoin figure is willing to say as much, is none of my concern. But I don’t think my opinions are unique.
All this said, I promise you I don’t harbor any ill will towards the Winklevii™. In fact, I want them to teach me their Winklevii-five™…right after they apologize for creating the Winkdex℠ and move it where it belongs. In #dogecoin™.
Now for Today’s Tid Bits:
Before a Bitcoin Fund Comes a Price Index
http://ow.ly/tP0Fk
TechCrunch Accepting Bitcoin For Disrupt NY
http://ow.ly/tP0Q3
Bitcoin Foundation Opens Nominations for Empty Board of Directors Seat
ow.ly/tP0BV
Coinkite Promises to Offer Secure Storage For Bitcoin Companies
ow.ly/tP0rn
Israeli Regulators Issue Joint Crypto Warning
ow.ly/tP0lC
Estonian Police Target Bitcoin Trading Site BTC.ee
ow.ly/tP08c
Bitcoin Exchange Prices Plummet as Investors Brace for Bankruptcy (via Wired)
ow.ly/tP02J
Bitcoin ATM Gets Surprise Launch in Biggest Boston Train Station
ow.ly/tOZhT
Now that I’ve gotten a good rant off of my chest, I’m going back to positive and positively fluffy over the next week or so. All kinds of good stuff to write up and reasons to be excited for Bitcoin.
Cheers,
TBI