A very remarkable story appeared in Fortune magazine on September 13. Bitcoin (BTC) billionaires have invested in a new project, Colossal, that aims to bring the extinct mammoth back to life!
Bitcoin billionaires bet big on reviving woolly mammoths to combat climate change https://t.co/8pgfDvw09c
— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) September 14, 2021
Colossal, founded by Harvard professor George Church, believes bringing back the mammoth, the last of which died more than 10,000 years ago, could help reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide on Earth.
The project, also known as “de-extinction,” recently held a $15 million funding round led by Legendary Pictures founder Thomas Tull. So some well-known bitcoin billionaires took part.
These are the Winklevoss twins, founders of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange and known for the Facebook lawsuit, and Tim Draper, a venture capitalist and known for buying as much as 30,000 in seized BTC during an auction in 2014.
In 2012, Church was part of a team that unveiled the Crispr-Cas9 gene-editing tool. Colossal wants to use this gene-editing technology to give the Asian elephant the same characteristics as the extinct mammoth. He then wants to bring the modified embryos to life via Asian or African Elephants or even an entirely artificial uterus.
Winklevoss tells Fortune he sees this as an opportunity to save the environment and wildlife, though he admits it may be easier said than done. He also thinks this will provide plenty of economic opportunities in the future, such as TV deals or even an extinct animal park. Yes, just like Jurassic Park.
excited about @winklevosscap‘s investment in @ItIsColossal and its de-extinction mission that will undoubtedly change the course of history and build a better future. @federallamm and @geochurch are solving for the future by bringing back the past. 🚀🦕https://t.co/n9gEuNbGI5
— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) September 13, 2021
Of course, he also briefly talked about bitcoin. Winklevoss thinks bitcoin will close this year at around $100,000. He is also very positive about the non-fungible token (NFT) market. He expects this to become a “multi-trillion dollar asset class over the next decade.”