Michael Lewis, author of 'The Big Short,' owns $378 worth of bitcoin

Michael Lewis isn’t buying bitcoin, but he’s not selling what he has, either.

The author of the best-selling books behind hit movies like “The Big Short,” “The Blindside,” and “Moneyball” says he owns $378 worth of the crypto asset.

Lewis started with $5 worth of bitcoin that he was gifted as part of research a few years ago, when he thought he might want to write about bitcoin. “I just wanted to understand it,” Lewis says. To educate himself, he spent half a day in “a den of bitcoin enthusiasts in Silicon Valley.”

Lewis wanted to know, “Am I going to be able to spend this stuff?” The experts told him yes, and got Lewis set up with a digital wallet and $5 in bitcoin. The group then took him to buy a cup of coffee with bitcoin in Palo Alto.

“It was a disaster,” Lewis shares. “Of course it didn’t work. I said, ‘Why don’t you call me when I can buy something with bitcoin,’ and I kept the $5 on my phone.”

With bitcoin now trading above $7,000, Lewis’ balance is still sitting in the same digital wallet, and has swollen to $378.

No story, no book, no cup of coffee, but as Lewis notes: “The bitcoin is now more valuable than my phone.”

Read more about bitcoin from Yahoo Finance:

Why bitcoin matters

Japan is poised to become the leading bitcoin market

Why China’s central bank fears bitcoin

Why Ethereum is the hottest new thing in digital currency

More than 75 banks are now on Ripple’s blockchain network

Expect more blockchain hype in 2017

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