So far that doesn’t seem like much of a story – wealthy speculators speculate and accumulate – but what Mezrich does with it is more interesting than that. It ends up being a kind of anthropology of the bitcoin craze ... The book is written with a slick beauty. It is structured as a sequence of dramatic scenes ... The book even has a truly heartwarming ending, at which the reader gives a little cheer. As an introduction to the rise of cryptocurrencies and the modern tech world generally, it is as painless and novelistic as could be imagined.
...it’s hard to muster much pity for two privileged young men ... Mezrich treats the brothers’ Bitcoin binge as something profound, as if they are the visionaries who created the cryptocurrency rather than the rich gamblers who wagered on it ... Mezrich is a talented storyteller, and portions of Bitcoin Billionaires offer memorable glimpses inside the messy world of a start-up currency ... Mezrich’s tale is hampered by his reliance on the Winklevoss brothers as his main sources ... the narrative is polluted by clichés ... there is Mezrich’s jarring disclosure at the outset that some details and settings described in the book are 'imagined.' It is hard to overcome the impression that large swaths of the book fall into that fictional zone.
Some books aren’t really books at all: they’re thinly disguised movie pitches that have been fleshed out to sit between hard covers ... Unfortunately, the 'Revenge of the Winklevii' is not a strong enough storyline to sustain Bitcoin Billionaires. By the second half of the book, their path to vindication has lost its zing ... Better books will surely be written about the cryptocurrency phenomenon ... But this is still an easy read for anyone willing to go along with the reconstructed dialogue and cinematic scene-hopping that are part of the genre.
...a fascinating, if flawed, chronicle about the origins of cryptocurrency ... Though this is not a sequel, it seems as though Mezrich is intent on making amends for his role in besmirching the Winklevii ... While they were previously portrayed as entitled whiners, here they are hardworking, serious and honorable. The book is filled with breathless platitudes about their conscientiousness and fortitude ... Still, the story of Bitcoin’s rise, fall and apparent rebirth is a fascinating one, and the twins’ investment and involvement make for an absorbing read.
As Mezrich acknowledges in his new book, Bitcoin Billionaires, the image needs revising ... An author who keeps using the word 'Billionaires' in his book titles likely keeps one eye firmly on the bottom line himself, and Bitcoin Billionaires feels like a draft of the screenplay for the film that Mezrich wills into being on every page (the rights have already been sold) ... The real function of a book like this, though, is to serve as a painless primer on Bitcoin, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and the metaphysics of money ... As Mezrich concludes, cryptocurrency is not going away.
