Bitcoin Forum

I'm an "early adopter" or to be more accurate: me and my late partner are. I mostly just helped pay for the computer stuff. I'm sorry that I won't have all the specifics but I think that's probably better anyways to help us remain anonymous. I briefly looked at some of the old posts to see if I'd recognize any of his usernames but none of them caught my eye. He was more of a geek than I was and more involved with computers.

It was early 2010 I think. We were talking one day and he was trying to explain Bitcoin to me. It didn't really make sense to me but he was pretty sure it would be successful and wanted to buy some computers so we could get some for ourselves. We were pretty poor at the time so I said no.

(Edit- Missed some dates here. First auction in early 2010 we bought just computers then it was later auction we bought the graphic cards! I didn't really know what he was buying and forgot a lot of the details)

It was about a month later we went to an auction for a computer shop going out of business. Without even asking me he started bidding on a bunch of computers. I was pissed. I can't remember how much they ending up costing but I remember it was more than we had so we ended up shuffling money around and extended our VISA card. The next day he bought even more stuff. A bunch of fans, cables, and stuff I'm not even sure what it was. He pretty much turned one of our guest rooms into a huge mess of wires and computers. I'm not even sure how many computers there was as a lot of the stuff was just laying around. It didn't look like regular computers in cases. I eventually got over him buying it but I think what annoyed me the most was the power bill and the heat! We were lucky that it doesn't get too hot where we live so we just sealed the room shut except for a giant window to the outside and a bunch of big fans.

He pretty much kept the thing running and I'd occasionally ask how many Bitcoins we had earned. At first it was hundreds of Bitcoins a day. But as I kept asking the number would get smaller and smaller. It was kind of interesting to watch. He'd update me with the price and we'd figure out how much we had earned and compare it with the cost we were paying just the run the computers and pay off our debt. We made enough that we would make a pretty decent profit if we sold them as the price went up. We thought it best just to hold on to them.

Early 2011 my partner became ill and passed away. I didn't really have enough knowledge about Bitcoins to continue doing what he was doing. Near that time it didn't look like we were making any Bitcoins anyway so I just ended up selling the hardware that people wanted and threw out the rest. He taught me how to send money, manage wallets, and backup everything. I did all that and forgot about Bitcoin. My life was pretty hectic at the time and I just considered the Bitcoins we accumulated to be a retirement fund.

Then while reading my online news I came across a Bitcoin article. I read it then decided to check out what Bitcoins were selling for. I almost had a heart attack! (I actually have a bad heart). I couldn't believe what they were worth! I think it was about $8 when I looked. By the time I moved some of my Bitcoins into MtGox they were over $15. I was excited! I sold a bunch and paid off my house and all my debt. It was exciting being debt free with lots of extra money. It felt like I had won the lottery. I felt like I lucked out and won a bunch of money. My partner was right! Bitcoins will continue to become valuable.

I wish my partner could see how right he was. I just feel sad that I was the one trying to stop him from doing it and he was so convinced in it he did it anyways. In many ways the money I have is his more than mine. I feel like I just inherited it. I'll always be thankful for what he did for me and how he has provided for me the rest of my life. Thank you!

That's my story of how I become an "early adopter"
  

Beautiful man...
Bitcoin will continue to grow.

You are right. You "lucked out". Right place, right time.

interesting.  you're lucky to have backed everything up, and learned how wallets, etc., worked.


maybe a little later?  was there any GPU mining software in early 2010?

wow. thanks for sharing this story.
now I  can understand why is an "old timer" confided to newbies section..

You noticed that too? I can't find any reference to GPU mining early 2010.

Early 2010 was when he first talked to me about it.

You are right though. I'm getting my dates a little mixed up. The computers were bought first then later the graphic cards. I'll fix my post. Thank you!

Well in many ways I'm a newbie. I have only basic knowledge of bitcoin as my partner was really the one doing all the stuff. I don't have much computer knowledge. So in a way I'm new. I was just part of getting some Bitcoins early.

Thats pretty crazy, wish I was in the same boat and heard about them sooner obviously, but I'll just do what I can to do some mining currently.

Nicely written!
Sorry about your partner's loss :(

Dude, I hope you left something for your partner's estate. By partner, I'm understanding business partner. If you meant the other kind(of partner), I'm extra sorry for your loss.

Ya, other kind. Thank you.

In early 2010 Bitcoins were going for less than a tenth of a cent.  If you listen to some of the experts here, it would have taken you hundreds of years to recoup the cost of your hardware.  You should have stopped mining and sold all of your equipment because mining wasn't worth it.

We weren't sure if it would pay off. We were expecting it going either way and were fully prepared that we would lose all our investment. I kind of expected us to lose it eventually. He figured we could throw some money down at Las Vegas for a very long shot or throw money into Bitcoin for a different long shot. We thankfully chose Bitcoin!  ;D

So how many BTC did you end up mining?

Hmmm, not sure if I want to say specifics.  ;)

Some things haven't changed from the old days apparently. Have the experts ever agreed that mining is "worth it"? I know there was a time when you could pay our rig off in about a month or less - did that eliminate the naysayers, at least temporarily?