Armstrong's $10 Bitcoin Gift

Guillermo Rauch shares a story about meeting Brian Armstrong, Coinbase's founder, at a party in 2012 and receiving Bitcoin that dramatically increased in value.

"I ended up at this party - could have been an office warming party or a meetup - and people were having conversations, passing out drinks. I met this gentleman named Brian Armstrong, and he did something that I find myself doing a lot: walking up to people with content, wanting to show them something.

He walked up to me and said, 'I'm working on Coinbase. It's like a bank for digital currency, and I'm building an app.' He shows me the app and then says, 'If you install the app, I'll send you a Bitcoin.' Just think about how crazy it is - twist my arm, I love trying out new things, and I loved Bitcoin at that time.

This was November 9th, 2012. It's the magic of the Bay Area because you can just walk up to people, show them things, see their reactions, get their feedback. On my side, you can be on the receiving end of new ideas, new opportunities.

So they put the thing in there - it says worth $10.81 for the app install. Now that's a hundred and three thousand dollars as of this morning."