By
Christopher Hamman
October 10th, 2019
We have had serious investors walk up to us and ask if Bitcoin really does make sense. Given this highly volatile cryptocurrency, people aren’t sure whether they will make big monies or end up losing everything. Here are some stories of those, who dared.
It is true that every cryptocurrency does not successfully climb up to success, some fail and this is why before investing one needs to have a prudent sense of understanding of cryptocurrencies. Indeed, when altcoin investments are the topic of discussion, Bitcoin inevitably rules the stage.
If you have done your research on Bitcoin then you would know how the altcoin has increased in value year over year, month over month, becoming the highest valued cryptocurrency. Let us tell you about a few people, who rode the early bitcoin and altcoin wave, and who are enjoying the life of a millionaire today.
Bitcoin Millionaire Erik Finman
In May 2011, when Erik Finman was only 12 years old, his grandmother gave him $1,000. Finman decided to put all the money in Bitcoin. In 2013, the value of Bitcoin increased, and he realized that the amount was worth $100,000. For a high school student, Finman had done exceptionally well with his investments, so, not surprisingly, he decided to quit school and start his own company.
Finman makes no secret of his dislike of the current education system. This is why he established an organization called Botangle, which provides peer to peer tutoring service through video chat. When in 2015, Finman found a buyer for his company, he was offered either $100,000 or 300 bitcoins. At that time, Bitcoin costed little less than $200, but Finman decided to take the Bitcoin offer, because he was confident that it will soon grow in value. In 2017, Erik Finman became a millionaire at the age of 18.
Kristofer Koch’s Bitcoin Success
In 2009, Kristoffer Koch, a Norwegian electrical engineer, decided to invest 150 kroner ($26.60) in 5,000 Bitcoins. At that time, Bitcoin had just started and the idea was fairly new for many people. He had come to know about the cryptocurrency when he was writing a thesis on it. With the investment being relatively meager, he forgot about it and had no idea what the tokens may be worth until he came across media coverage regarding the success of cryptocurrencies.
It took him a considerable period of time to recall his private key in order to access his wallet. When he finally found one, he found out that he had 5,000 Bitcoins in his wallet, which converted to NOK 5m or $886,000. Only 1000 Bitcoins were enough money to buy an apartment in the wealthy neighbourhood of Toyen in Oslo.
Koch had never imagined how well the $26.60 investment would pay off. With a house of his own and 4,000 Bitcoins still waiting in the wallet, this is just one success story that makes us wish to time-travel to the early Bitcoin days and make an investment.
Getting Paid in Bitcoins Made Olaf-Carlson Wee a Millionaire
In February, 2013, when Olaf-Carlson Wee was 26 years old, he was hired by a Bitcoin startup company. At that time, Bitcoin was valued at $20 to $30. He realized the potential of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a whole, so he decided to get paid in Bitcoins. People were still very new to the concept of Bitcoin, but Olaf decided to use his pay as investment and speculate, as he liked the idea of a decentralized means of payment behind Bitcoin.
Today, his money has grown exorbitantly because of the unchained success of the token. While more people are beginning to show interest in cryptocurrencies, reading success stories like these make us imagine how much we could have earned only if we had invested at that time.
But while Bitcoin has become extremely valuable and one requires a considerable sum of money to invest in it now, there are other cryptocurrencies that have emerged winners as well. Ethereum, for example, has done extremely well.
We get most of our Altcoin info from Crypto Coin Judge, you will find accurate and insightful details about altcoins, brokers and relevant news about new coins.
Eddy Zillan’s Success in Investing in Bitcoin
At 16 most teenage boys focus on school, girls and parties, but Eddy Zillan had other plans. In 2015 he Zillan invested $1,000 in Bitcoin, when it was valued at around $214. He soon realized the currency’s potential and invested another $5,000, which was his Bar Mitzvah money. It turned out that his investment paid extremely well as Bitcoin grew in value.
He was motivated to invest further, so he took another $6,000 and converted it into Bitcoin currency. What started as an early investment grew into huge success. Zillan capitalized on his success by establishing his own cryptocurrency consulting business.
While volatility continues to be a concern for many investors, people like Zillan have proved that Bitcoin has a lot of potential and can turn small investments into huge successes.
Dee Heath – From Pole Dancing to Cryptocurrency Consultation
Dee Heath invested in Bitcoin relatively late, but her success is worth mentioning too. She started investing in Bitcoin in early 2017. Before investing in cryptocurrency, Heath was a pole dancing instructor in Western Sydney. Now Heath’s passion has shifted to speculating and investing in Bitcoins. She still continues to run her pole-dancing fitness business, but now Heath is considering quitting and becoming a full-time investor.
Apart from pole-dancing business, she also runs a website which explains cryptocurrency investments to newly coming investors. Given her considerable success, Heath knows the potential of Bitcoin, which is why she encourages people to understand the idea behind it before they proceed with the investments.
Michael Sloggett Realizes His Dream of Building a New Home
Owner of a supplements store named “Second to None” in Townsville, Australia, Michael Sloggett started using digital currencies to pay for the supplements that he acquired from international companies. Having noticed the token’s potential, he began investing in Bitcoin in January, 2017.
Sloggett’s investment started with $900 eventually increasing to $6,000 by October 2017. Sloggett was able to pay off his mortgage, and, using the profits from his investment, he purchased land in Townsville, where he is building a new home now.
Sloggett started a Facebook page named Crypto Calls. He now owns five stores in Australia and plans to expand his business through investments in cryptocurrencies. A considerable amount of his wealth exists in the form of digital currency, and Sloggett feels no need to worry about the future of altcoins.
Jered Kenna Made It to the Bitcoin Millionaire’s Club
Jered Kenna was one of the earliest adopters of Bitcoin, having started so early that he remembers seeing as few as four computers connected to the Bitcoin network. Still, Kenna wasn’t as successful as other people in this article.
He ended up losing a significant amount of Bitcoins, when hackers hacked into his mobile and email address and got inside his wallet. While he did not disclose the number of Bitcoins stolen, he did mention that he lost millions in dollar value.
Kenna had also lost 800 Bitcoins when his computer was erased in 2010. Kenna did not worry a lot about the loss at that time, but the hacking has caused him a lot of distress over the money he lost. Since Bitcoin does not allow a reversal of transactions, there is no way to get the money back.
Jered Kenna is now a businessman, who uses Bitcoins for most transactions and encourages the use of Bitcoins in his business as well. While he lost a lot, he was still able to enjoy a lot of profits, which helped him grow his business.
Inspired by these investors? While some started off early, some started as late as 2017. Those, who recognized the potential of digital currency, have been able to reap its benefits. Of course, early adopters have enjoyed the best returns. You can become an early adopter of one of the digital currencies that is yet to hit the market by participating in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
Since it is important to do a lot of research before investing in an ICO, you can go to our friends at ICO Token News for all ICO related news and info. Check it out before you begin investing in digital currencies.
