Silicon Valley venture capital giant Tim Draper: Bitcoin believer and innovation promoter

Tim Draper, a well-known venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, is not only the "enlightener" of Pop Mart angel investor Mai Gang, but also an early and steadfast bitcoiner. The projects he has invested in have driven some of the most innovative advancements in today's market, including Skype, Baidu, Hotmail, and Tesla.

! How Tim Draper, the "initiator" of Bubble Mart angel investor Mai Gang and the father of Silicon Valley venture capital, bet on Bitcoin and the next era

Coming from a family with venture capital and political backgrounds, Draper is the third generation of the family. His father was the founder of an investment firm and served as chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Draper's grandfather founded the venture capital firm in 1958, creating the basic rules of today's VC, including management fees and a share of projects after the investee company exits.

In 1985, Tim Draper founded his own venture capital firm, and subsequently expanded into multiple entrepreneurial and startup education platforms. His most notable investments include Baidu, Hotmail, Skype, Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter, Coinbase, Robinhood, and Twitch.

In the early 2000s, when foreign capital was generally withdrawing from China, Draper chose to stay and ultimately succeeded in betting on Baidu. He is also one of the earliest Silicon Valley figures to enter the Chinese venture capital industry. In 2005, he co-founded an entrepreneurial platform with Mai Gang and others, becoming an important participant in China's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

! How Tim Draper, the "enlightener" of Bubble Mart angel investor Mai Gang and the father of Silicon Valley venture capital, bet on Bitcoin and the next era

Draper's interest in Bitcoin began in 2011. Despite incurring significant losses in early investments, this did not undermine Draper's confidence; instead, it sparked his admiration for the resilience of the Bitcoin system. In 2014, he purchased a large amount of Bitcoin at prices above market value at an auction by the U.S. Marshals Service.

In Draper's view, the advantages of Bitcoin are clear: it is a global currency that does not require government intervention; It is a way to preserve value without having to store precious metals or works of art; It is frictionless money that flows automatically according to the contract without the need for a lawyer or accountant to explain and intervene.

Draper believes that Bitcoin and its underlying technology, blockchain, are the engines driving human progress. He predicts that Bitcoin will reach a price of $250,000 by 2025 and will replace the US dollar as the global reserve currency within 10 years.

As a venture capitalist, Draper summarizes six core investment principles: don't invest too much in a single company in the early stages; The investment period is set at 5 to 10 years; Don't project your entrepreneurial experience onto others; Focus on mission, not money; Investment depends on "passion", not "data"; Don't get stuck in an overly long-term project early on.

To this day, when Bitcoin is still sometimes questioned as a "bubble", Tim Draper has taken the lead in going all-in; While mainstream capital is still cautiously looking at emerging technologies, he is already nurturing talent, building infrastructure, and investing in visionaries for the next generation. He does not see himself as a speculator, but as an agent of change.

! How Tim Draper, the "initiator" of Bubble Mart angel investor Mai Gang and the father of Silicon Valley venture capital, bet on Bitcoin and the next era