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How a 10-Second Email Sealed a Billion-Dollar Deal Final part
Let’s talk about Coinbase.
The Cold Email That Became Coinbase
Not every bold bet ends in regret.
Sometimes, a single cold email turns into billions of dollars.
Fast forward to 2012.
Garry Tan, an early-stage investor, was sifting through his inbox when he spotted an email from an unusual address:
contact@bitbank.is
At first glance? It looked like spam.
The email was from Brian Armstrong, an unknown entrepreneur pitching something called Bitbank.
To sweeten the pitch, Armstrong attached an unusual demo — 0.05 bitcoin sent directly to Tan’s account.
At the time, bitcoin was a joke to most investors.
It was a niche concept whispered about on internet forums. To numerous, it looked further care amp cozenage than amp good fiscal asset.
And elements but got worsened over the age that followed.
Bitcoin was old for louche minutes along the Silk Route. Crypto exchanges got hacked. The unit diligence looked toxic.
Most investors would neglect that email.