The astronomical rise in the value of bitcoin—which has surged more than 8,000 percent over the course of 2013—has created a new breed of digital currency multimillionaires.
随着比特币价值的飙升——2013年全年其价值激增到了原先的80倍,一群新兴的虚拟货币千万富翁诞生了。
The 34-year-old Roger Ver began investing in bitcoins in early 2011—and made his first million from the virtual currency that same year—which saw prices skyrocket from around $0.30 to $32 before settling at $2. He bought his first bitcoins at around $1.
34岁的罗杰·沃在2011年上旬开始在比特币上投资——同年他从这种虚拟货币上赚到了第一桶金。罗杰见证了比特币价格上升的轨迹,从约0.3美元起步、飙升至32美元、最后以2美元收盘。他最初是以约1.34美元的价格购得比特币的。
With prices currently hovering above $1,000, his virtual wealth has since exploded. Ver says he doesn't feel "richer" but that his wealth is "much more liquid than it would be in a normal bank account."
现在比特币的价值在1000美元上下徘徊,沃拥有的虚拟货币的财富也随之暴增。沃并没有觉得自己“更加富有了”,因为他的财富“比一般的银行存款更具有流动性。”
Ver is one of hundreds of investors that have struck it big with bitcoin. But his association with the virtual currency extends far beyond just owning it.
沃是数百个靠比特币发家致富的投资者之一。但对他来说,比特币远远不仅是一种所有物。
At $1,000, Ver regards bitcoin as "incredibly cheap," noting that if it gains in popularity as he anticipates, each bitcoin would be worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
当比特币的价值达到1000美元时,沃还认为比特币“便宜的令人不敢相信”,依照他的推测,比特币的人气还会上升,到时它的价值会达到数万乃至数十万美元之多。
"The rapid price rise is due to people with money starting to realize how important of an invention bitcoin is," he said.
“比特币价值上周的原因在于,持有财富的人开始意识到这种虚拟货币的重要性。”他说。
"Bitcoin will experience many bubbles along its way to improving the lives of everyone on the planet. I'm not concerned with the short-term price fluctuations," he added.
“比特币将经历许多经济泡沫,但最终它将改善世界上每个人的生存境况。对于其短期间的价格震荡、我并不担心。”他补充道。
Ver, who currently uses bitcoins to pay factories in China to produce electronics components for his company, says he plans to use them "to promote the ideas of Voluntaryism and economic freedom" in the future.
沃目前正用比特币来支付几家为公司制造电力电子器件的中国企业。他说,他将使用比特币来宣传自愿主义和经济自由主义。