Bitcoin and the wealthy

Bitcoin and the wealthy

Ten years ago, Sandra Ro was working in finance in London when some currency-trading friends told her about bitcoin. The cryptocurrency had been released only a couple of years previously and was still far from a global phenomenon.

"Bitcoin was only really known in geeky tech circles and eventually currency traders in London found out about it around 2010,“ says Ro. She invested in the cryptocurrency, made a substantial fortune and is now chief executive of the Global Blockchain Business Council, a Swiss non-profit organisation that promotes the technology behind cryptocurrencies.

With a background in markets at global banks such as Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley, Ro was quick to grasp blockchain's revolutionary potential. "What really piqued my interest was whether the tech could disintermediate financial markets. I thought, what the heck?“ she recalls. "Bitcoin was trading at a couple of hundred bucks at the time and I bought a bunch thinking, what if it works? And guess what? It did!“

Today, bitcoin and its digital peers are becoming mainstream. The hype reached new heights this year after the cryptocurrency gained 600 per cent in value in 12 months. The mania has swept up not only retail investors but also very wealthy people.