This couple bet big on bitcoin. Now their earnings will fight cancer in the Lowcountry

In 2013, Halle Tecco and Jeff Hammerbacher decided to make a “crazy bet” by investing in the then little-known cryptocurrency, bitcoin.

To the couple’s surprise, their investment has recently skyrocked. But, unlike other investors in the stock, Tecco and Hammerbacher decided to put their earnings to a good cause — one right in our Lowcountry backyard.

Tecco and Hammerbacher, who both work in the medical technology field, donated all the money they made to the Medical University of South Carolina Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston, Tecco announced on LinkedIn last week.

“We made a crazy bet on bitcoin ... in 2013,” she wrote. “It’s done extraordinarily well. Excited to announce that we’ve donated it all to MUSC Hollings Cancer Center to further cancer research. Three cheers for bitcoin philanthropy.”

The response to Tecco’s public announcement was huge. Tecco received more than 7,500 likes on her Linkedin status and 135 comments, which all commended the couple on their good deed.

Tecco has not yet disclosed the value of the donation, which was confirmed by a MUSC spokeswoman.

Tecco co-founded Rock Health, a digital health investment firm, and also works an adjunct professor at Columbia University's business school, according to her LinkedIn profile. Her husband, Jeff Hammerbacher, previously worked as a data scientist at Facebook and now works as an assistant professor at MUSC, according to LinkedIn.

In 2007, the pair started an investment fund called Techammer, which invests in “data science, digital health, and companies that make science go faster.” The pair also announced their donation on the company’s Twitter account, where they received a further outpouring of support.

In 2013, the couple made an angel investment in the Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust, a traditional vehicle for investors to invest in the cryptocurrency, Tecco told CNBC.

When the couple first made their investment, Bitcoin was selling for around $800, Tecco told the business news outlet.

Last week, the cryptocurrency soared to more than $17,000, in spite of being worth less than $1,000 at the start of 2017.

“We pretty much forgot about it for a few years and then this year, it got interesting,” she told CNBC.

The pair told CNBC they hope speaking publicly about their donation will inspire other members of the investment community who have benefited from the bitcoin craze to do the same.

This story was originally published December 14, 2017 at 9:58 AM with the headline "This couple bet big on bitcoin. Now their earnings will fight cancer in the Lowcountry."