Behind CryptoGem are two tech geeks who were early blockchain adopters. Having started coding at the age of 8 and founded his first startup at the age of 16, Michael immediately started to mine BTC when he heard about Bitcoin from his boss Eric in 2012. But when he tried to sell some BTC on Mt. Gox, he discovered that what was the world's largest platform at the time was difficult for beginners to use. As the adoption of blockchain continued, Michael and Eric realized that it was reshaping the financial system into one that would not only serve richest few, but everyone in the world — even the less educated, unemployed, and unbanked. By the end of 2013, they wrote the first pieces of CryptoGem's code in a cafe, starting a People's Exchange that would allow all to get involved with crypto.