Barry Silbert is the Founder & CEO of Digital Currency Group.
Experience
Silbert founded SecondMarket in 2008. It allowed investors to buy and sell private shares in private companies and startups before they went public. Silbert stepped down from SecondMarket in July 2015 in order to focus full time on Bitcoin. NASDAQ Private Market later acquired SecondMarket on October 22, 2015.
Digital Currency Group
In 2015, Silbert founded Digital Currency Group. The company is the largest funder of Bitcoin and blockchain tech and companies. DGC has invested in Coinbase, BitPay, and Xapo among 50+ other companies.
Additionally, DCG operates Grayscale Investments, which manages the Bitcoin Investment Trust. DCG also runs Genesis Global Trading, an OTC Bitcoin market.
Bitcoin Investment Trust
Silber founded the Bitcoin Investment Trust (BIT). It originally allowed investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without the need to actually buy or store the currency. Initially, BIT was open to accredited investors who could purchase directly from the trust.
In March 2015, the trust was launched publically on the OTCQX® exchange. This marked the first time regular investors could gain exposure to Bitcoin through traditional investment vehicles. The trust holds more than 100,000 bitcoins.
Quotes
On whether or not his company may shift towards investing in blockchain technology rather than Bitcoin:
No, I am one of the few investors out there that is as excited, if not more excited, about Bitcoin as a currency and Bitcoin as a rail.
Video
Barry Silbert: Western Union Will Be Crushed by Bitcoin