Behind the popularity of Pop Mart, the story of Silicon Valley legend Tim Draper's belief in Bitcoin has once again attracted attention.

As the "enlightener" of Mai Gang, the angel investor of Pop Mart, Tim Draper is not only the founder of the famous Silicon Valley VC Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), but also an early investor in projects such as Baidu, Hotmail, Skype, Tesla, and Coinbase.

In 2005, he and Mai Gang jointly launched Chuangye Gongchang in China, making early investments in China's technology entrepreneurship and blockchain ecosystem, and even becoming one of the angel investors in OKX.

Draper's connection with Bitcoin began in 2011. At that time, he purchased $250,000 worth of Bitcoin on the Mt.Gox platform, originally planning to hoard 40,000 BTC. Due to delayed delivery of mining machines and platform theft, he ultimately lost almost everything.

Miraculously, this heavy loss strengthened his belief: even in the face of huge hacker theft, Bitcoin only briefly fell by 20%, and the system still operated normally. This allowed him to see the resilience and huge potential of Bitcoin as a core asset of the new financial system.

In 2014, the United States Marshals Service auctioned off Bitcoins confiscated from Silk Road. Draper purchased all 30,000 $BTC in one go at a price higher than the market price, and has since become one of the most well-known individual whales in Bitcoin history.

Draper firmly believes that Bitcoin can provide low-cost, decentralized financial solutions for the 3 billion unbanked people worldwide, completely subverting the existing financial order.

In terms of investment logic, Draper always emphasizes "passion over data." He believes that projects that are truly worth betting on should have a mission-driven and transformative desire. His investment philosophy includes: controlling the rhythm of capital investment, evaluating over a 5-10 year cycle, avoiding imposing one's own experiences on others, and looking at the founder's belief and execution, rather than a simple financial model.

Today, Draper is no longer just an early speculator, but the most steadfast evangelist of the Bitcoin ecosystem. In 2024, he publicly predicted that Bitcoin will reach $250,000 in 2025 and eventually replace the dollar as the global reserve currency. With the pressure of dollar devaluation constantly rising, he frequently issues "dollar extinction" theories, calling on global retailers to prioritize accepting Bitcoin payments.

Mai Gang of Pop Mart may have long understood that Draper is not only an enlightener, but also a minority who dares to bet on a completely new era.

As the tide of the crypto world surges forward, Tim Draper uses practical actions to bet on the future in his heart.