Winklevoss Twins Acquire Patent for Cryptocurrency Exchange Traded Products

As the sentiment of major investment firms begins to shift, the demand for derivative-based cryptocurrency investments has seen rapid growth.

Pushing further into Wall Street, Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss secure a patent for the first-ever cryptocurrency Exchange Traded Product.

In 2013, the Winklevoss twins became well-known for their $11 million investment into Bitcoin and have since been deeply involved in the world of cryptocurrency trading - later founding cryptocurrency exchange Gemini in 2015.

The approval of the patent application allows Winklevoss IP, a company owned by the Winklevoss brothers, to settle exchange-traded products holding cryptocurrencies on national securities exchanges.

An ETP is a type of security that is priced based on the derived value of other investment instruments such as commodities, stocks, or in this case, cryptocurrencies.

"Systems, methods, and program products for use with ETPs holding digital assets, including digital math-based assets, such as bitcoins, Namecoins, Litecoins Ripple, Dogecoins Ether".

In March 2017, the SEC disapproved the Winklevoss' application for a Bitcoin-derived Exchange Traded Fund, the most popular type of ETP. At the time, too much uncertainty existed surrounding digital asset regulations, and skepticism surrounding cryptocurrencies was high.

"First, the exchange must have surveillance-sharing agreements with significant markets for trading the underlying commodity or derivatives on that commodity. And second, those markets must be regulated."

More specifically, Goldman Sachs and the NYSE's parent company have just recently announced plans to open digital assets trading desks - an indication of a radical shift in perception regarding cryptocurrency.

The Winklevoss twins have secured five patents this year alone, with the most recent of which being related to improving the security of cryptocurrency transactions on the Gemini exchange.