Bitcoin Forum

Firstly, I have been a member of this board for quite some time. I lost my credentials, so a created a new account because I have something to say or would like to participate in ongoing discussions. Although I am happy that the newbie forum is no longer required; it did have some utility preventing spam and FUD.

Secondly, Bitcoin changed my life. How so; you may ask?

Before the 2013 bubble; I was relatively broke, jobless, and without a steady place to live. I heard about Bitcoin on a popular "news" show on a conservative cable network that someone else was watching. I then used the oracle (Google) to discern what opportunities may be available in this space. I had a few greenbacks left when BTC was under $20. The decision was made to buy. BTC hit $260ish, and I sold at an average of $190ish. I held 15% of the BTC I had purchased and spent another 2.5% on pizza and Gyft cards. It was a quasi-gamble that paid off.

Most of you know that BTC crashed swiftly upon reaching the peak in 2013. I was able to buy back on the way down at an average price of $65. By this time, I was able to afford to buy and hold without fear of going hungry. With the windfall of cash, I enjoyed a much higher standard of living than which I had grown accustomed. I learned something about myself, and many other people: I don't manage my cash very well. Also around this time, I received a windfall of cash (outside of BTC) while maintaining a fairly low standard of living. BTC was hovering pretty low and I continued to buy when people were bearish.

What is this cash problem? It spends so easily that it evaporates quickly. Fact: it is more difficult to spend bitcoin than it is to spend cash. This has resulted in me using bitcoin primarily as a storage of wealth. I must confess that I sold a bit of BTC on the China $1000+ bubble. I also started buying back at $800ish, and have continued to buy on the way down until recently at $400ish. Am I "worth" 1/2 as much now as I was in January? Simply; yes. However, I have a hell of a savings account that no one can take. I also believe that my savings account will be bigger in one year no matter what bitcoin does in the interim.

There are a few things that I would like for all bitcoiners to do or at least think about doing:

1. Buy more. But, BTC is going down; right? This, my friends is the time to buy IMO. So much is developing around BTC that I do not see it devaluing to any greater extent.
2. Spend some BTC on things you were already going to buy and make sure to buy back with the cash you otherwise would have spent on the product you purchased.
3. Give some to friends, family, and other good causes. Make it a non-trivial amount. This fosters adoption more than any other activity. My mom got bitcoin for Mother's Day.
4. Don't speculate for purely speculative reasons with money that you need for other things.
5. Talk with local businesses about accepting your coin for their product. Small business listens.

Bitcoin is like most things. It is not Republican, Democrat, or Libertarian. It is not Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or atheist. It is not white, black, brown, or any other race. Bitcoin is what you make it; much like your own life. It is currency and information for everyone. We have yet to realize the true potential contained therein.

Great story, Thanks for sharing.

Bitcoin will make you become more rich. ;)

Mine too, but because of a change in my wealth. For reasons far more substantial. I see the potential...

I am very happy for you!
Good luck! I hope the Bitcoin will make you rich  ;)

I love the passion and the story, good stuff

In a much smaller way, bitcoin has changed my life too..

Great story thanks for sharing, it kinda changed my life too. Once I started buying Bitcoin from $10 all the way up to $100 everyone told me that I will lose all my money, but the opposite happened.
In let's say 1 year time I made more money than I would do with 10 years of working.

Hope it will change our life again when it hits $5000 or so.

Great job OP. It looks like you got pretty lucky with the short term speculation. Although I'm pro bitcoin, I also want to point out that some people have lost devastating amounts when buying at the peak, contrasting to your incredible gains.

Bitcoin has ruined my life.

nice story, good to hear that.

I did the ASIC pre-order thing last november can't say my life has been too great since then, what a hit....

What's your story, ASICs, Gox, gambling, silk road, pandas, bad actors of some colour?

Bitcoin has made the needy rich and the greedy poor.

Thank you ...because of strong hands like you, we can safely say, bitcoin is here to stay. Thanks again :)

Inspiring story from OP.



Then the new rich will grow greedy and we need a new financial innovation to solve that problem. And so the cycle goes on... :D

Proof or didn't happen  :D

Share your story, what happened?

Always nice to get the real time experiences from somebody who has been high and low on the markets.  I suspect your correct and will be rewarded by your decisions to buy on the way down of the most recent dip.

Great story thanks for sharing your bitcoins experience with us.

Quoted for truth. The thing that excites me is not so much the wealth it could bring to me personally in the future but the amazing things it can and will do in the third world. Giving the incredibly poor of the world access to the worldwide economy will be a revolution in human rights and dignity as well.     

Agreed it will change currency forever especially once it stabilizes.

Thank you. I certainly got lucky with short term speculation. When I first got into bitcoin, no one in my region had ever heard of it. I still remember buying my first pizza for friends using a Gyft card. Folks still thought I was nuts for sinking real money into play money. This year; I bought a new smartphone, a vacuum cleaner, and some non-perishable foodstuffs; all with BTC. My family still thinks I'm nuts. I no longer have a bank account. I operate solely on BTC and paper.

I stopped "trading" bitcoin in fall of 2013, and began pursuing a goal of accumulation of more BTC. The ways that facilitated accumulation were as follows:

1. Localbitcoins.com: Selling BTC at a premium and rebuying immediately at the current rate is an excellent way to increase holdings. This way I was able to increase my holdings by about 10% with each trade. However, I stopped this activity when sellers were being held criminally accountable for what the buyers were doing with the BTC. It sucks that this happened; but I don't want to be the victim of an undercover that hints at whatever his alleged nefarious intentions are with the purchased bitcoin.

2. Selling to individuals outside of a centralized website (occasionally using craigslist). See #1.

3. Buying and HODLing. This is never a bad strategy.

4. Speculating (short to mid term) with about 15% of my holdings. This is by far the most risky way to increase holdings, but if timed right; the speculator looks like a genius. Follow the big players (market makers) and mimic their plays. I no longer have a stop loss due to a change in my financial situation. I just buy more when the price declines.

5. Selling things for BTC. This usually requires trust between parties or a trusted third party acting as escrow. Multisig escrow is outside the understanding of many folks.

Never buy BTC with money you need for bills or emergencies. If you choose to speculate; the speculator should be committed to the purchase longer term. BTC is rarely lower 12 months later than the date it is purchased. Be responsible. Open an exchange account. It's easy. Use a reputable one.

Warren Buffett has spoken out against bitcoin in recent interviews. However, one of my favorite Buffett quotes involves the relative unimportance of timing compared to the actual event. It goes something like this (paraphrased of course), "If you know what will happen in a given market, it matters not when it will happen."

So much emphasis is placed on the timing of a trade involving BTC that we can lose focus on the "what" we believe will happen. In short: If you don't think bitcoin will be around in the mid-term, don't buy any at all. If you think that the technology will continue to gain traction and utility, and thus value; buy without consideration of price.

I've never mined a single coin. I opened a Campbx account and bought $800 (40 - 50 BTC at the time). I executed one trade on Gox in 2013 and didn't like the direction the company was going. I prefer a door I can kick in should my funds be mismanaged.

I'm sorry to hear that you are one of many hit by poor procedures practiced by many mining manufacturers. Any time a "get richer quicker" opportunity comes along; bad actors are certain to be one of the first to market. I'm not tech savvy enough to have fallen into the ASIC trap. For once, my ignorance paid off. I hope you get repaid in some way.

I too am excited for the opportunity that Bitcoin presents to the under-banked in any country. I'm in the US and it is remarkable how many GenXYers and millennials do not have bank accounts. The low transaction fees and relatively high transaction speeds can really increase both the velocity and amount of money that can move across continents. This is one of the best things about using bitcoin.

You are lucky enough just like others who kept their faith in Bitcoin from very start.

What does "a few greenbacks" translate into in $? Must be more than a few if your standard of living changed from a 1000% roi..

I had about $2500 to my name when I first bought $800 worth. I sold much of my holdings to reap about $7000. I was living out of my car and staying with friends and family at this point. Previously going from making 6 fgures a year to zero. I bought back in with most of this money after the bubble of 2013. It didn't take much to change my standard of living from what it was when I began.

Trading on exchanges and selling at a premium to non-traders earned me more BTC. I also got an unexpected windfall of cash (unrelated to bitcoin) later in the year (2013) that kept my hands out of my BTC holdings. Buying back in after the 2013 bubble, reinvesting proceeds from BTC sales to non-traders, and holding are the three best decisions I have ever made.

Each time I sold BTC, I bought 10% more regardless of price. I now have no car payment, rent a home with a yard; and my only three bills are car insurance, internet, and phone. I enjoy a life free from financial worry, albeit far from luxurious. I neither want nor need luxury. A good quality of life for me is one free from financial concerns. I can maintian this standard of living for quite some time because of bitcoin, luck (variance), and good decisions.

The innovation that solves greed is not a financial one. It will be an innovation of collective compassion; it will be the end of capitalism.

Great story!  ;)

Thank you for sharing. Cool story.

Greed can't be solved. Greed lies in human nature - it's driven by the desire to survive in face of competition around limited resources which is shared by all species. That's how evolution works.

Capitalism is not bad. Capitalism favors the smart and industrious over the dumb and lazy. And that's a good selection. Of cause there are cases when capitalism fails due to an abuse of rights. But overall capitalism offers much more freedom to the individual than any alternative.

Like the story  :D

Good story, happy for you. But you had some luck buying early and luck again selling high then to buy back in on a lower price. Many of the readers here bought late or are still holding and lost quite some money.

Well I to think with all the extra's bitcoin is bringing (merchants/atm,etc) it's still early, so just hodl on to the coins you have. But that's just what I do haha don't know if this is the right thing to do.

Such an inspiring story. I must say that every successful trader of this forum must share their success story. It will inspire a lot like new member of this forum.

If only I had the initial wealth to invest originally. Ive been around bitcoins since they were 5 bucks a pop. Had I had enough money to invest, id be a rich son of a bitch right now.

Had I heard of BTC some more years ago, I am sure I would have mined them for fun and wouldn't have just sold them. I also would be rich now ;)

Regret that I forgot about Bitcoin after early 2011 crash, glad that I've made some bucks in 2013/14 altcoin goldrush  :) Now I'm ivesting all BTC I can get in several cryptos, but in longrun I treat this like Bitcoin deposit.

I really enjoyed your story! Thanks for sharing.

Dude that's profound!

Fully agreed. Enough places accept Bitcoin now where we can all start shifting our default online purchase currency over to Bitcoin. It helps Bitcoin in many ways that I doubt I have to list for you fine folk.

Bitcoin can seem harder to spend than cash because of it's nature and the status of the infrastructure around it. It will take time, but with companies like CoinKite, it will become easier and easier. On the flipside, it would be easier to spend BTC online than it is to spend cash.

I liked your story! Thank you for sharing it.

Lots of people are just hearing about Bitcoin for the first or second time, Sharing you story here on this forum  help people see what bitcoin can do for them personally.

Agreed - bitcoin provides benefits to society not just wealth

Always nice to see how Bitcoin helped some struggling people get over their problems.

I'm sure we will see more of these stories once Bitcoin gains mainstream adoption, since we're still in early phase and we're all early adopters.

That is indeed an profound sentiment. A lot of it has to do with timing as well. If people got in early, then they got a low price and significant gains. We are at that point again at $450/BTC. There is another run up and the needy can get rich again.

Bitcoin hasn't changed my life yet, but I'm new to this .... I remember reading a story about some dude who bought Bitcoin early on when it was way cheap, and he now owns an apartment complex or something. That's one guy who, if he's smart about his new fortune, will never be on welfare.

Bitcoin did not make me rich but I learned a lot about how money works and how bad fiat is for us. Thanks Bitcoin.

After a nasty experience with my bank it also gives me a lot of solace that there is an alternative out there so that we (theoretically at least) do not need banks and bank accounts.  :)

Well Bitcoin, not yet, change my life nor make me rich :D but yeah, through bitcoin, i can make some $$$ and get rich knowledges about many things, like trading, latest technology, business, marketing etc :D



Agreed. I mostly saved bitcoin that i got because i saw bitcoin is in great development :)

Just wanted to say thanks for sharing with us your story.
I was just talking with my brother the other day and brought up the fact that everyone that already has enough bitcoin to become millionaires will change the world because if they were smart enough to figure out bitcoin and see its future value and utility probably have a few good idea’s of their own or at least think in a way where they will be able to see value in ideas. It will be a really exciting to see what crazy technology we will see once bitcoin millionaires start spending there money.

I always love to read inspiring bitcoin stories. I hope I see many more.

Hopefully bitcoin will change all our lives eventually and also many other peoples around the world. I really think bitcoin could be almost as revolutionary as the internet. We just need to give it time and watch it grow.

It is nice to hear your story

interesting story. sure changed mine too...for the better for sure. :)

I m really thankful for sharing ur experience. we r hearing lot about bitcoins but real examples really give u the courage to proceed with it

Thanks for sharing your story :D

Great story, do people want to make money out of bitcoin or they just want to use bitcoins as a payment method? I think both and we can at least profit from bitcoin at the current situation doesn't matter where It will go.

great story!!!!....and thanx for sharing!!!!!!its uplifting for newbies like me to read such stories..it makes this bitcoin business more tangible..!!!

Thanks for the great story! Plus I like the steps that you suggest for people, especially sharing/spreading bitcoins!

Well, its cheap if you compare it when the price is 1000$, I believe Bitcoin is worth way more so time to buy in!!

I start having doubts. People are wandering into different interesting altcoins, some of which are really innovative, not many, but capital is being diversified from Bitcoin. Bitcoin should hit $1k, but not before September or even November-December, I believe. It takes too much capital to move Bitcoin compared to altcoins.

Too many alt clones. Imagine the coming newcomers to crypto seeing all these different coins. Its confusing as hell.

Not all are clones, there are a few with code written from scratch with interesting features, and a few alts modified from bitcoin's code with changes improving on bitcoin's functionality, that bitcoin will most likely never adopt because of its size of a behemoth. Of course, 95%+ are dumb clones, and they are confusing.

lucky..... I sold during the $100-200 times  ;D

As soon as we get big investors like the winklevii.. more positive media coverage...  or maybe even a site like Amazon accepting bitcoin as payment is when the price will skyrocket again.