How Tim Draper, the

The explosive rise of the trendy toy brand Pop Mart has once again thrust its first angel investor, Mai Gang, into the spotlight. In the summer of 2012, Mai invested in the company just five days after meeting its founder, Wang Ning. As Pop Mart's first angel investor, Mai witnessed its journey from a humble Beijing apartment to a Hong Kong IPO.  

Mai's "vision" was partly shaped by his early mentor in the U.S.—renowned Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper. Mai entered China's venture capital scene in 1998, co-founding Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Venture Capital. Later, while studying at UCLA, he won first place in a startup competition, which connected him with Draper and Silicon Valley's VC world. In 2005, he co-founded VenturesLab with Draper.  

Tim Draper, hailed as the "Godfather of Venture Capital," has backed some of the most innovative projects in the market, including Skype, Baidu, Hotmail, and Tesla. He is also an early and steadfast believer in Bitcoin.  

### Family Legacy and Silicon Valley Genes: A Third-Generation Investor  

Draper comes from a family with deep roots in venture capital and politics. His father founded Draper & Johnson Investments and served as chairman and president of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. In 1994, his father returned to investing and co-founded Draper International, the first U.S. VC fund focused on Indian companies.  

Draper’s grandfather, William Henry Draper Jr., established the venture capital firm Draper, Gaither and Anderson in 1958, creating foundational VC rules like management fees and carry. He also served as the first U.S. ambassador to NATO.  

Growing up in this financially and politically influential family, Draper developed a unique perspective early on. He attended Phillips Academy Andover, then Stanford University, earning a bachelor's in electrical engineering in 1980. In 1984, he received an MBA from Harvard Business School.  

In 1985, Tim Draper founded Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), later expanding into Draper Venture Network and Draper University, platforms dedicated to entrepreneurship and education.  

His most notable investments include Baidu, Hotmail, Skype, Tesla, SpaceX, AngelList, Twitter, Coinbase, Robinhood, and Twitch.  

When foreign capital largely withdrew from China in the early 2000s, Draper stayed and ultimately struck gold with Baidu through DFJ. He was among the first Silicon Valley figures to enter China's VC industry. In 2005, he co-launched VenturesLab with Mai Gang, becoming a key player in China's startup ecosystem. VenturesLab also became an early investor in OKX.  

In 2018, Draper University, through its Chinese affiliate dCamp, set up a blockchain talent incubator in Beijing’s Zhongguancun, attracting many crypto pioneers.  

Draper has also invested in early crypto projects like Ethereum, Coinbase, Ledger, Bancor, Arkham, Ark, Merzo, and Propy.  

### Bitcoin Journey: From Losing 40,000 BTC to Becoming a True Believer  

Today, Draper’s footprint in crypto is everywhere. However, compared to 2014–2020, his crypto investments have slowed in recent years, with his public focus shifting to promoting Bitcoin.  

Draper first noticed Bitcoin in 2011, two years after its inception. Through investor Joel Yarmon, he met Peter Vincennes, founder of CoinLab, a Bitcoin-focused innovator and miner that partnered with Mt. Gox. Draper made a small investment and asked Peter to buy $250,000 worth of Bitcoin at ~$6 per coin. The BTC was stored in Mt. Gox, and part of the funds were used to buy ASIC miners from Butterfly Labs to mine more at lower costs.  

Two things went wrong: the miners were delayed, and the BTC mined was stored in Mt. Gox’s wallets—both eventually lost when Mt. Gox was hacked. Draper became one of its largest creditors.  

Yet, this loss only deepened his respect for Bitcoin’s resilience. Despite the hack, Bitcoin dropped just ~20% and kept trading. Draper realized its demand was so strong that people tolerated fraud and failures just to have a frictionless, global currency.  

In 2014, when the U.S. Marshals auctioned 30,000+ BTC seized from Silk Road, Draper saw a chance to recover. He bid $632 per coin (above the $618 market price) and won all nine blocks.  

He soon envisioned using Bitcoin to empower the unbanked in developing nations, where distrust in local currencies and inflation run rampant.  

### Predicting $250K Bitcoin by 2025: "Bitcoin Will Replace the Dollar"  

To Draper, Bitcoin’s advantages are clear:  

1) A global currency free from government intervention;  

2) A store of value without needing physical assets;  

3) A frictionless medium for automated contract execution.  

He sees Bitcoin and blockchain as engines of human progress. Just as the U.S. thrived by lightly regulating the internet, the same approach could keep crypto innovators stateside.  

In May, Draper repeatedly declared the dollar "worthless" and pushed Bitcoin as the alternative. "The dollar is going extinct," he posted on X. "As it devalues, people will rush to spend it." He predicts retailers will soon prefer Bitcoin, turning it into a spending tool.  

He told CoinDesk Bitcoin could replace the dollar as the global reserve currency within a decade, becoming "infinitely more valuable." Short-term, he expects $250K by 2025.  

His dollar pessimism stems partly from the weak DXY index, reflecting waning confidence amid Trump-era trade tensions.  

### Investment Philosophy: 5–10 Year Cycles, Passion Over Data  

Draper’s six core investing principles:  

1) **Don’t over-invest early**: Start with 1/2 to 1/6 of your intended amount to preserve follow-on funding for winners.  

2) **5–10 year horizons**: Avoid ultra-long cycles; focus on mid-term outcomes.  

3) **Don’t project your startup experience**: Not every founder will replicate your sacrifices.  

4) **Mission over money**: Invest in visions you believe in, not just profit potential.  

5) **Passion beats spreadsheets**: Draper tunes out financial models—he backs founders driven by purpose.  

### Conclusion  

While Bitcoin still faces "bubble" skepticism, Draper has gone all-in. As mainstream capital hesitates on Web3, he’s already nurturing talent, building infrastructure, and betting on visionaries. He’s not a speculator but a catalyst for change.  

To Mai Gang, Draper is more than a mentor—he’s the one "keeping the spark alive in a capital winter."  

Whether Bitcoin dethrones the dollar remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: Tim Draper has staked everything on that possible future.  

**Disclaimer**: The views expressed herein are solely the author’s and do not constitute investment advice. This platform disclaims liability for accuracy, completeness, or timeliness, and losses from reliance on this information.