Roger Ver

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Roger Ver
Ver, December 2016
Born (1979-01-27) 27 January 1979 (age 45)
San Jose, California, U.S.
Nationality
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forPromoting Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash
MovementLibertarianism, anarcho-capitalism, Voluntaryism
Websiterogerver.com

Roger Keith Ver (born 27 January 1979[1]) is an early investor in Bitcoin, Bitcoin-related startups, and an early promoter of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.[2][3][4][5] Ver has sometimes been referred to as "Bitcoin Jesus".[5] He switched to promoting the Bitcoin fork Bitcoin Cash in 2017[2] as Ver sees it as fulfilling the intended and original purpose of Bitcoin as described in the 2009 Bitcoin White Paper by Satoshi Nakamoto, in which Nakamoto referred to Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system.[6][7] He has stated he supports any cryptocurrency that promotes more economic freedom for the world,[8][9] and holds multiple cryptocurrencies.[4][10]

Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he became interested in libertarianism and economics at a young age, going on to found multiple tech startups before switching to promoting cryptocurrency full time in 2011 and investing in its related industry. His previous website MemoryDealers.com was the first website in the world to accept bitcoin for payment. He has often been critical of governments, renouncing his United States citizenship in 2014 after obtaining Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenship, and continuing to promote voluntaryism and free market economics.[4][11][12] He is the owner and current Executive Chariman of Bitcoin.com.[7][13][14]

Early Life

Ver was born in San Jose, California. His biological father was a computer engineer.[15] He attended Valley Christian High School. He then attended De Anza College from 1997-1999 and Stanford University in 1998, before dropping out to pursue business interests full time.[4][12][13]

Career

Pre-Bitcoin

Prior to his involvement in cryptocurrency, Ver was the founder and CEO of MemoryDealers.com from 1999 until 2012. By 2004 he had made his first million dollars and went on to found Agilestar.com that same year, specializing in fibre optic transceivers. He remained its CEO until 2018.[4][16][13]

Cryptocurrency

Ver first heard of bitcoin on a libertarian radio program in 2011 when it was less than a dollar per coin,[5][4] and has stated he became so excited that he was checked in to a hospital a week later for sleep exhaustion after near-continuously reading about it.[3] He began investing in it heavily soon after, in early 2011, when the price was "...still under one U.S. Dollar each".[5][13]

The first cryptocurrency business investment he made was for Charlie Shrem’s Bitinstant.[17] Ver's investment allowed the company to hire a designer and another programmer.[18] He went on to invest significant amounts of money into numerous other bitcoin and cryptocurrency-related startups, including Ripple, Blockchain.com, BitPay,[19] Zcash,[4] and Kraken,[20] among others. In 2011, Ver's company MemoryDealers.com became the first in the world to accept bitcoin as payment.[11] In 2012, Ver began organizing bitcoin meetups in Sunnyvale, California,[21] and in the same year, created the website Bitcoinstore.com.[13][22]

Ver is one of five founders of the Bitcoin Foundation.[23] He was one of the main proponents of a larger block size for the bitcoin blockchain, and supported the development of Bitcoin XT as a hard fork method towards an increase. He continues to support Bitcoin Cash.[7][4]

Ver, along with his high school friend Jesse Powell (who would later become the co-founder and CEO of Kraken[24]), attempted to re-establish the Mt Gox exchange during the June 2011 bitcoin price crash.[21]

In 2014, Ver purchased the Bitcoin.com domain name for an undisclosed sum. He served as the CEO of Bitcoin.com until 1 August 2019, at which point he transitioned to Executive Chairman.[14][13][25]

In 2018, Ver was ranked number 36 in Fortune's "The Ledger 40 under 40" for transforming business at the leading edge of finance and technology.[2] In early 2020, Fortune mistakenly referred to Ver as the co-creator of Bitcoin Cash.[26]

CoinFlex

For a time, Ver was a minority shareholder of the now defunct CoinFLEX exchange.[27] After the 2022 collapse of Terra-Luna and other cryptocurrency market downturn events, CoinFLEX withdrawals were paused on 22 June 2022. This prevented Ver and other creditors from being able to withdraw their assets.[28] Ver subsequently sued CoinFLEX CEO Mark Lamb, after which Lamb countersued. In 2023, after a lengthy arbitration process, a settlement was reached where it was agreed Ver was owed 100 million dollars.[29]

Personal life

In 2000, Ver attempted a run for California State Assembly with the Libertarian party.[30] During a debate in the run-up to this election, he harshly criticized multiple U.S. Federal Government agencies.[31]

In 2002 at the age of 23, as part of a plea agreement Ver agreed to plead guilty to a felony-related charge of selling explosive materials without a license, as well as illegally storing and mailing them.[32] Ver sold at least 14 pounds of a brand of fireworks[note 1] called "Pest Control Report 2000" as large firecrackers on eBay, stored them in a residential apartment building, and mailed them to customers via the U.S. Postal Service. He was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison.[20][34][32][3] Ver claims the prosecution was politically motivated[3] after his campaign for the California State Assembly during which he publicly called the ATF and FBI "jackbooted thugs and murderers" (in reference to the 1993 Waco Massacre), and called for those agencies' dissolution. He also claims to have been the only person to have ever been prosecuted for the crime, and that Cabela's and other sellers were still selling the product without a license at the time he was sentenced to prison.[31] The manufacturer was later forced to stop making and selling the product, which contained gunpowder far above the legal limit for consumer firecrackers.[33] In a 2018 video posted to his website, he claimed to have been psychologically tortured by a prison guard while serving his sentence, and repeated that he was sentenced for what amounted to "... selling firecrackers on eBay back when eBay had a 'guns and ammo' section and it wasn't a big deal".[35][4]

In 2014, Ver renounced his United States citizenship after he became a citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis.[20][36] His name was subsequently published in the 2018 Q1 Quarterly Publication of Individuals Who Have Chosen to Expatriate.[37] In 2015, he was denied a visa to reenter the United States by the U.S. Embassy in Barbados, which claimed that he had not sufficiently proven ties outside of the United States that would motivate him to leave at the end of his visit.[34][36][16] Ver claimed the reason for the rejection was because the embassy declined to look at his documents, so he reapplied (with success) at the U.S. embassy in Japan.[38] He has since returned to the U.S. successfully on various occasions.[39] In 2020, Ver became a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda.[40]

Ver identifies as a libertarian, anarcho-capitalist, voluntaryist, a peace advocate, and an advocate for individualism.[4][13][41]. He has stated that while he is not uncomfortable with the label of "anarchist", he is not in favor of chaos, and still wants "natural law and voluntaryism".[42] Ver has also donated money to many voluntaryist and free market causes, including a $1,000,000 bitcoin donation to the Foundation for Economic Education in 2013,[43], donations to Antiwar.com,[44] and others.[4][13]

Ver is fluent in Japanese[2] and moved to Japan in 2006[20], where he still spends much of his time as of 2023.
According to an interview he gave in 2016, Ver describes Brazilian jiu-jitsu as one of his major passions in life.[45] He can be seen in videos competing in BJJ world championships[46] and has achieved the rank of black belt.[47]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has variously described the product as "Fireworks" and "Agricultural Firecrackers"[33]

References

  1. ^ "Roger Keith Ver: Vital • California Birth Index, 1905-1995". FamilySearch.org.
  2. ^ a b c d "The Ledger 40 Under 40". Fortune.com. Fortune Media IP Limited. 29 July 2018. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Raskin, Max (12 April 2013). "Meet the Bitcoin Millionaires". Bloomberg. Bloomberg LP. Archived from the original on 12 March 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Fenton, Andrew (16 January 2024). "Roger Ver's next life: Cryonics meets crypto". Cointelegraph.com. Cointelegraph Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Harjani, Ansuya (2 December 2013). "Meet 'Bitcoin Jesus,' a virtual currency millionaire". CNBC. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  6. ^ Nakamoto, Satoshi. "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-peer Electronic Cash System" (PDF). Bitcoin.org. Bitcoin.org. Archived from the original on 13 January 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Popper, Nathaniel (25 July 2017). "Some Bitcoin Backers Are Defecting to Create a Rival Currency". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Why Digital Currency = Economic Freedom for the WORLD - Roger Ver Keynote May 2018". YouTube.com. 22 May 2018. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  9. ^ Ver, Roger (24 December 2018). "Good Luck Tweet". X.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024. I wish anything that brings more economic freedom to the world good luck. #BitcoinCash #ETHEREUM #DASH #monero #zcash #zcoin #cryptocurrency
  10. ^ Ver, Roger (12 November 2017). "I Sold BTC for ETH". X.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024. I sold a portion of my BTC for Ethereum in addition to lots of Bitcoin Cash.
  11. ^ a b McMillan, Robert (19 December 2013). "How Bitcoin Became the Honey Badger of Money". Wired. Conde Nast. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Roger Ver Bio". Worldcryptoindex.com. 2 December 2018. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Ver, Roger. "Roger Ver - Bio". Rogerver.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  14. ^ a b Foxley, William (2 August 2019). "Roger Ver Steps Into Chairman Role as Bitcoin.com Adds New CEO". Yahoo.com. Yahoo. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  15. ^ Lawrence, Damilola (25 June 2023). "The Incomplete Story of Roger Ver, Bitcoin's True Believer". Cryptopolitan.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  16. ^ a b Farivar, Cyrus (7 January 2015). "Bitcoin investor who renounced US citizenship now can't get back in: Roger Ver gave up US passport in favor of St. Kitts last year". Ars Technica.
  17. ^ Jeffries, Adrianne (13 December 2011). "Brooklyn-based Bitcoin Startup BitInstant Raises Seed Round". Observer. Observer Media. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  18. ^ Russell, Kyle (29 January 2014). "Meet The 'Bitcoin Millionaire' Arrested for Allegedly Helping Silk Road Launder $US1 Million". Business Insider Australia. Allure Media. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  19. ^ Lunden, Ingrid. "With PayPal-like Ambitions for Bitcoin, BitPay Raises $2M Led by Founders Fund". TechCrunch. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  20. ^ a b c d Clenfield, Jason; Alpeyev, Pavel (16 June 2014). "'Bitcoin Jesus' Calls Rich to Tax-free Tropical Paradise". Bloomberg. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  21. ^ a b Vigna, Paul; Casey, Michael J. (2015). The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and Digital Money Are Challenging the Global Economic Order. St. Martin's Press. pp. 178, 268. ISBN 978-1466873063. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  22. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20130401091843/http://memorydealers.com/comingsoon.html
  23. ^ Farivar, Cyrus (7 April 2015). "Bitcoin Foundation is 'effectively bankrupt,' board member says". ArsTechnica. Condé Nast. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  24. ^ Kharif, Olga; Yang, Yueqi (21 September 2022). "Crypto Agitator Jesse Powell Steps Down as CEO of Kraken". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  25. ^ Cheng, Evelyn (11 December 2017). "'Bitcoin Jesus' is 'really, really concerned' about the future of the digital currency". CNBC. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  26. ^ Morris, David (8 January 2020). "In Cryptocurrency, It's Bitcoiners vs. Everyone Else". Fortune.com. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  27. ^ "Crypto Exchange CoinFlex to Issue Tokens After Withdrawal Freeze". Bloomberg.com. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  28. ^ "Crypto Exchange CoinFlex Won't Resume Withdrawals as Planned". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  29. ^ Otto, Hayden (10 January 2024). "Roger Ver Reveals the Truth About the CoinFlex Collapse and Mark Lamb".
  30. ^ SmartVoter (3 February 2000). "Voter Information for Roger K Ver". League of Women Voters. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022.
  31. ^ a b Lee, D. (2022, January 8). Dave Lee and Roger Ver on The Future of Money, Technology and Governance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyIaLoKQt0U [Timestamp: 22:51]. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  32. ^ a b "San Jose, California Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Explosives on eBay". U.S. Department of Justice, United States Attorney, Northern District of California. 2 May 2002. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015.
  33. ^ a b "Missouri Company Ordered To Stop Manufacturing and Selling Illegal Fireworks". United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. 17 January 2003. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023.
  34. ^ a b Sparkes, Matthew (7 January 2015). "Millionaire 'Bitcoin Jesus' denied entry to the US". Telegraph (UK).
  35. ^ Ver, R. K. (2018, July 6). My Story of Being Tortured in Prison. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ07sM5w_Dk
  36. ^ a b Minsky, David (16 January 2015). "U.S. Won't Let 'Bitcoin Jesus' Who Renounced His Citizenship Come to Miami for Conference". Miami New Times (blog).
  37. ^ "Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen to Expatriate, as Required by Section 6039G". Federal Register. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  38. ^ Henderson, A. (2021, April 28). Leaving the USA as a Crypto Investor (With Roger Ver). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwGmEbbHWsg [timestamp: 4:30], Nomad Capitalist Lmited. Retrieved January 14, 2024,.
  39. ^ North American Bitcoin Conference. (2017). Roger Ver Keynote Speech - The Benefits of Economic Freedom. Miami, USA. Retrieved January 14, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UQ3plheIgc
  40. ^ Notes from the Cabinet Part 3. (2020, August 20). Retrieved January 14, 2024
    Archived:
    https://web.archive.org/web/20240114114159/https://ibb.co/bJHMcqk
    Original:
    https://www.facebook.com/OPMAntiguaBarbuda/posts/733875897410915/
  41. ^ "Roger Ver Saint Kitts & Nevis Citizenship Case Study". Jhmarlin.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  42. ^ "The Bitcoin Cash Podcast #100: Taking Back Bitcoin feat. Roger Ver". YouTube. The Bitcoin Cash Podcast. 10 December 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024. Timestamp: 1:35:36
  43. ^ "Roger Ver Gives FEE Highest-Valued Known Bitcoin Donation, Worth About $1 Million". FEE.org. Foundation for Economic Education. 1 December 2013. Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  44. ^ "Donate to Antiwar.com Today!". Antiwar.com. Randolph Bourne Institute. 9 September 2023. Archived from the original on 9 September 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024. In late 2017 Antiwar.com expanded its crypto currency options including the innovative BitcoinCash under the generosity of Roger Ver, philanthropist and peace advocate.
  45. ^ "Roger Ver, World's First Investor in Bitcoin on His Passion for BJJ & Brown Belt". Bjj Eastern Europe. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  46. ^ triforcebjj (31 May 2013), Roger Ver vs David Garmo in 2013 BJJ World Championships, retrieved 2 October 2018
  47. ^ Ver, R. K. (2023, December 8). After nearly 16 years of training, I’m now a BJJ BlackBelt. X.com.
    Archived:
    https://archive.ph/xlUns
    Original:
    https://twitter.com/rogerkver/status/1732900888124252584

External links

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