Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz won half a bitcoin in an election bet, then gave it away through a self-hosted lottery

REUTERS/Rick Wilking

• Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz won half a Bitcoin in an election bet over the weekend, but then hosted a lottery to hand it out to "new Bitcoiners." 
• Novogratz, the CEO and founder of crypto-focused merchant bank Galaxy Digital, was expecting Democrats to secure both the White House and the Congress.
• A Twitter user @Adelgary won the lottery, but others contested the outcome by claiming he already owns Bitcoin and isn't new to the crypto world.
• Half a Bitcoin is currently worth $7,726.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

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Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz said he won half a Bitcoin in an election bet on Saturday, and gave it up in a self-hosted lottery to a Twitter user.

Half a Bitcoin is currently worth $7,726. Bitcoin has risen 10% in the past week, hitting $15,453 as of 10:20 am GMT on Monday. The price has gained almost 60% since the end of August and is up nearly 300% so far this year.

Novogratz said in a tweet: "I won an election bet with @StoneyBitson.  1/2 BTC. I am going to have a lottery for young Bitcoiners for that coin. No one can enter who already owns a Bitcoin. I'm thinking of a number between 1-1000. Whoever guesses first gets it. I'll have Stoney send directly. One guess."

Novogratz previously said he was expecting Democrats to win both the White House and the Congress. 

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A Twitter user @Adelgary won the lottery by guessing the number "826." Novogratz said he chose the number 8 because he lived in China for 7 years, where the number eight is considered lucky. 26 represents his birthdate.

Because the former hedge-fund manager said the coin would go out to new Bitcoin users, other participants in the thread contested his call by pointing out that the winner already owns Bitcoin.

Novogratz, a prominent Bitcoin bull, has suggested that a conservative Senate and less fiscal stimulus would be good for cryptocurrencies. "Less fiscal, more Fed, good for crypto," he said.

He also believes that every central bank will start issuing digital currencies in 5 years.

Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential race thanks to victory in Pennsylvania and Nevada over the weekend, in one of the most fractious election races ever.

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