Print Page - I've invested around 450 dollars into bitcoin so far and I am 16 years old

Am not sure what does you mean about you put all into it, did you refer to how long you invest to learn Bitcoin or you're used all of your money which is $450 to buy Bitcoin? As long as you can afford to lose all of your $450 and you don't need to use that money to buy stuff in your school, you're good to go.

Does you mean this app? https://www.stockpile.com/

It's a centralized platform and I see they're ask KYC verification, it's not good for long term holding, you need to use hardware wallet since you're still newbie. Make sure you bought it from official store/seller. Anyway this thread is good to learn Security and Privacy Topics on Guides and Protection. (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5387164.0)

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

2/3 of my bitcoin is in Stockpile and the other third is with my dad (I'm not sure how he's storing it). At this moment I own a total of 0.01798185 bitcoin :)

I have never heard about Stockpile but if it is a centralized service, don't use it to store your bitcoin.

Reminder: do not keep your money in online accounts (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5421039.0)

Cryptocurrency security checklist (https://cryptosec.info/checklist/)
Bitcoin information and resources (https://www.lopp.net/bitcoin-information.html#)
Advice to secure your wallets (https://bitcoin.org/en/secure-your-wallet#online)
[General] Bitcoin Wallets - Which, what, why? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1631151.0)

You can use Electrum (desktop or mobile) because it is very light in storage space. If you want better privacy, use Bitcoin Core.

$450 is too big for a high school student. If you are wanting to invest long term, DCA is good for you to go.
https://dcabtc.com/

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

Currently, I am a sophomore in high school. I learned about btc from my dad and btc blew my mind and I was hooked. I've been pretty much putting all that I can into it for a year and a half now. Are there any tips you guys give me? 2/3 of my bitcoin is in Stockpile and the other third is with my dad (I'm not sure how he's storing it). At this moment I own a total of 0.01798185 bitcoin :)

Good luck, 0.01798185 is a large amount for your age. It's admirable that you own so many bitcoins at this age, but it would be even more admirable if you could hold on to it. Holding Bitcoins is a difficult task that not everyone can do. So you use a non-custodial wallet to hold your bitcoins to keep them secure and when you are able to acquire more bitcoins buy a hardware wallet and store them safely there. Best wishes to you

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

Thanks you have undoubtedly done a good job on it. You got into bitcoin while still studying in high school, learned about bitcoin, did a great job. But today maybe because of your father you got so much support. But I think your father is enough to advise you here. After that the advice I would give you is that you can use a hardware wallet to store your invested bitcoins. If you can use hardware wallet then your invested coins will be very safe. Finally I would say hold your bitcoins for a long time and you will own a lot of money at a very young age.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:50:31 AM

Quote from: Jawhead999 on February 19, 2023, 04:26:50 AM

~
Also, I will talk to my dad tomorrow or very soon to talk to him about transferring my money out of stockpile and into a hardware wallet. I plan on long-term investing my money into btc. Currently, I can afford to lose all of the 450 dollars of bitcoin that I have. It's not a life-changing amount for me or my family. However, I do plan on investing almost every dime I earn from a job/birthday/holiday (I'm not actually 16 I turn 16 literally next week) I am very excited to get a job so I can get more bitcoin, for me it's like gold, in my mind bitcoin is shiny and awesome looking.

For a 16 year old kiddo, that's a huge amount already, but seeing the words "I can afford to lose all of the 450$ of Bitcoin that I have", I'm assuming that you came from a rich family or a family of businessman. Am I right? :D

Anyway, I hope that 16 year old kids like you will think of the same here in my place. In my place, 16 year old boy or even a girl is just thinking of ways to go out, have fun, and posting some useless Tiktok videos out there instead of learning about finance. Well, I can't blame though, but it's quite unfortunate.

I guess some here gave you already some tips and tricks with your investing journey. I guess that is what I will say. It's not a tip, but good job on investing on Bitcoin at a very young age. You and me are one of the 58% of crypto holders are under 34 years of age (the number is based on this page (https://buybitcoinworldwide.com/cryptocurrency-statistics/). Just continue what you're doing and learn more. :)

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 05:41:37 AM

do u know how to change username haha

Its not possible for you. Some old members have been successful in changing their username by PM'ing theymos (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=35) and Cyrus (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=78147) regularly.
However theres no chance they will listen to a brand new account. So your best bet would be to make a new one :)

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 06:05:55 AM

I'm not sure why I would be wanting respect from a btc community,

If mods/admins start to change usernames of all the ppl who request, it will create heck of a confusion between all to differentiate, coz you will have daily scammers trying to scam other newbies by changing their usernames quietly. I know its not your intention but still.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 06:05:55 AM

I would literally receive nothing in return.

You are new thats why you dont know but with time you'll understand what respect can give you in this forum. ;)

You can continue what you currently do by investing in bitcoin using DCA to save your money in bitcoin regularly.
I suggest you move the bitcoins to another separate wallet and don't combine them with your father's bitcoins.
Having bitcoins means you are responsible for those bitcoins so you must know how to store bitcoins properly.
You are young but want to learn how to invest in bitcoin so that if you can continue investing in bitcoin, you can earn good returns in the future.

You are doing the right thing, saving little by little in Bitcoin. Doing that with fiat is pointless as your money is only losing value continuously.

Tips? I think you need to learn about hardware wallets. Learn to self-custody what you have. I haven't heard about Stockpile but I doubt it is an open source non-custodial wallet. Also, don't be surprised and lose interest once the market goes through a severe winter. It has discouraged a lot. It has pushed many to panic sell, with a big loss. Learn to develop a diamond hand. It pays off in the end.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

This is a good start for a sixteen year old. You mates are out there playing videogames and wasting money on unnecessary things or activities but you have shown a lot of wisdom and determination. I hope you keep holding this asset until you become an adult and independent. I want to also encourage you to keep adding to your investment now that you are depending on your parents because when you leave them it might become difficult to save. Keep saving mate.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 07:00:40 AM

Do you know a good resource for DCA BTC?

You can use the site above as DCA calculator, but know that DCA is not something hard. Just taking certain amount of money weekly or every certain period of time and invest it in bitcoin continuously for certain period of time is DCA. As for me, it is not what I need a calculator for, just normal calculator is okay for me, but there are ones like that one above posted by Edwardard that makes the calculation easier.

For security and privacy, you will find these topics interesting: Good topics on security and privacy (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5239098.0)

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:50:31 AM

Quote from: Jawhead999 on February 19, 2023, 04:26:50 AM

Yes, I do mean stockpile.com. Also, I will talk to my dad tomorrow or very soon to talk to him about transferring my money out of stockpile and into a hardware wallet. I plan on long-term investing my money into btc. Currently, I can afford to lose all of the 450 dollars of bitcoin that I have. It's not a life-changing amount for me or my family. However, I do plan on investing almost every dime I earn from a job/birthday/holiday (I'm not actually 16 I turn 16 literally next week) I am very excited to get a job so I can get more bitcoin, for me it's like gold, in my mind bitcoin is shiny and awesome looking.

I don't know about stockpile.com either, but if you already own a hardware wallet, don't hesitate to move all your bitcoins to a hardware wallet, it's the safest wallet by far. If it's money won't affect your life even if it disappears so hold your bitcoins as long as possible. Another thing is, bitcoin is more precious and better than gold, it completely outperforms gold in terms of returns.
But you're only 16 years old, which means you're still of school age, so you still have to focus on your studies, don't be too passionate about making money and neglect your studies. Education is your future.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

Buying bitcoin at your age is a good thing and $450 is a big money in some countries and if you will remain consistent you can be referred to as a future millionaire. But I read where you said you put your all into bitcoin. I want to understand if you invest all your money in bitcoin. But it is bad, you only need to invest what you are able to lose. Please don't be addicted to investing what you cannot afford to lose. Focus on long term investment of small amounts at a time in a manner that it will not affect you.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 07:25:26 AM

Quote from: Darker45 on February 19, 2023, 07:12:14 AM

~snip~

Yeah most likely I'll probably lose some money but at the end of the day I own bitcoin. Plus I'm going for a long-term investment, not a short-term one. Investment is not always uphill. Diamond hands hahaha ;D ;D ;D

I tried to get my sister to get in on btc but she said she doesn't like the "stress" L sister ::)

You're not really losing. Paper loss is not a loss in the sense that your Bitcoin is intact and that it's only the price that has decreased. And it's normal for a highly unpredictable and volatile asset like Bitcoin. Well, it's strictly an unrealized loss, but that doesn't mean anything unless you will sell your Bitcoin. The only thing that would make you lose is if you sell at a loss. So if there will come a time when you want to sell, do it with a realized gain not loss.

To be honest, if you're new it could indeed be stressful. If the price value of your Bitcoin portfolio has fallen 70%, you could possibly get stressed. But that's the tendency only if you focus on its short-term to medium-term price fluctuations. If you zoom out the entire Bitcoin chart, you will see how things will eventually get better in the end.

The last laugh always belongs to the one who's got the diamond hands.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

Maybe you come from a developed country because at 16 years old you can get 450$ is a huge amount. At your age, kids in my area are still dependent on their parents, and they have almost no savings. You are lucky to know bitcoin when you are 16 years old and if you can invest in it until you grow up, I believe you will be a billionaire in the future.

A good amount for a start but be sure you can afford enduring the market price volatility in this industry. It won't always be upsies given how volatile the market price is. There will be times of corrections and market price downfall. If you cannot afford seeing how the market behaves then ease down I guess. As mentioned, you are a student; I've heard cases wherein students are investing their allowance and even tuition fees in this industry which will never be right and tolerable. Just think of times wherein you'd be needing that money and you cannot sell because the price is still low. This is simply the unexpected but what is usually happening. So be careful.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

Keep on storing for now since you are still in high school and doesn’t have source of income. Buying Bitcoin and Holding alone is the best investment for newbie since the rest of the investment opportunities is high risk especially trading shitcoins.

You should invest on hardware wallet to store your BTC and stay away on any ponzi that promise you to grow your Bitcoin with insane passive income without doing anything. I’m sure that you will encounter this kind of scheme so I’m giving you an early warning. Good job!

Mr. MH, Although you are only 16 yrs of age, you still have much to learn. With regards to the internet, usernames should be considered like Avatars. You should have have lots of them to hide your true identity. You may be surprised about how much trollers can discover about you from your real name. Whenever you create an account on these types of forums or social media sites, no one cares who you really are, so pick any name you choose.
With regard to Bitcoins, definitely keep them in a hardware wallet. Others have recommended some good ones. (personally I like the Ledger Nano-X).
If you plan to keep buying BTC on an exchange, then check the price charts regularly and try to buy the BTC when the chart price is below the 50 day Moving Average. That way you will be able to capture more profits from price increases over time. Try not to expect quick profits, just take your time to accumulate your stash. Hold that BTC for many years, wo when you graduate from college you may have enough BTC to buy a nice car or a house (not stupid junk) in a decent neighborhood.
Good Luck.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

You should be happy that you started so early. Keep the trust on crypto and bitcoin and you will be rewarded big way in future.

You should also share the information and benefits with friends so that they also start investing in crypto. If you want to explore work opportunities in crypto field, you should look for related courses as well.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 07:25:26 AM

I tried to get my sister to get in on btc but she said she doesn't like the "stress" L sister ::)

Maybe by seeing you investing on practice she will get interested on this matter eventually. Especially once she sees there is nothing stressful in investing in bitcoin, if you are a long term holder. I believe it's stressful to invest only when you are a day trader who is constantly trying to milk few pennies profit every day from market's fluctuations, which lead to potential losses after a while.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

2/3 of my bitcoin is in Stockpile and the other third is with my dad (I'm not sure how he's storing it).

I guess you are referring to a custodial wallet where you don't own the private key of the wallet. It's better if you withdraw the fund to a non-custodial wallet like Electrum; even better if you give a hardware wallet a try. I'm sure you are looking in long term. A hardware wallet for storing your coins (key actually) would be great for you. Remember "Not your keys, not your coins."

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

Your story is soo cool. good luck to you Hold bitcoins securely. And if you can hold it without selling it, you will own about $1800 when Bitcoin hits $100k. Hold the bitcoins in a good non-custodial wallet like Electrum, Ledger, KeepKey, Trezor etc or you can buy a hardware wallet too
Such events can only be seen posted by Newbie accounts. However op you might get some Smerit if you post a screenshot of your holding bitcoin with the post

Quote from: Edwardard on February 19, 2023, 04:18:00 AM

Good job young man. Consider yourself lucky to even know about bitcoin at such a young age. I suggest you to keep and store your btc in a secure self custodial wallet like electrum, bluewallet, mycelium. You can use exchanges to buy more BTCs but never store them there since "not your keys, not your coins". Good luck on your future ventures!

Electrum is the best place to store your bitcoins. With exchanges getting default every now and then it's very uncertain to store your bitcoins there. One more thing that is advisable to OP and other investors is to invest in DCA (Dollar Cost Average) manner rather than putting all your money at once. DCA is very much trusted and tested strategy that is very much suitable for students that want to invest in bitcoin from their monthly or weekly pocket money.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

Good job to those of you who at a relatively young age already know and have invested in bitcoin, because there are still many people out there who want to invest in bitcoin but don't have the money to start with. As far as the story you wrote in the thread and your father should have taught you how to store bitcoins in a safe place, as this is important as the next priority in keeping bitcoins in a safe place long term. Buy gradually and hold your bitcoins, because we will see a surprise for next year when it reaches the next ATH.

If you intend to store bitcoins in the long term, the electrum and bluewallet wallets are safe enough places for you to store bitcoins and if i'm not mistaken Stockpile requires KYC, is it correct?

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 06:22:17 PM

Okie dokie everyone. A lot of people are saying that I should invest in a hardware wallet to secure my future of holding my btc. The idea of a hardware wallet is very attractive to me and I will get one as soon as I can. Currently, I don't have the money to even get a hardware wallet so I'll try to ask for one for my birthday or I'll save up for one. Some of the bitcoin wallets I see are rather expensive (Like ledger) these bitcoin wallets are pretty much off the table since currently, I have no way to make money other than on birthdays and holidays. My dad has a lot of experience in crypto so maybe he'll have one lying around I'm not sure. It's super awesome having a dad who's into programming, crypto, and tech stuff especially since he's 46 years old and most people his age don't really understand much about programming/tech especially crypto. I will try to get a job as soon as I can (since I'm not actually 16 yet I'm 15 lmao I turn 16 next week sorry for the clickbait). I've applied to many jobs but they never even responded since it's most likely due to me being 15 and not 16. ::) ::) ::)

I believe this model is one of the cheapest ones:

https://trezor.io/content/images/product/default/trezor-model-one-black_343553.png
https://trezor.io/trezor-model-one

Although it looks outdated, it fulfills its purpose very well... It shouldn't be that hard or challenging to have enough money to acquire this device in a country like USA. And since your father is into this universe for longer, he will understand your demand in having a hardware wallet sooner as possible to store your currently 450$ in BTC currency safely.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 06:22:17 PM

You can use a free, secure and safe software wallet like electrum, with electrum you are in control of your private keys and seed phrase, and that alone is much better than the wallet you are already using, though an electrum wallet can be a hot or cold wallet, it all depends on how you use or run it on your device, it is a hot wallet if you use it on your internet device, but since you are holding for the long term if you have two devices, you can set up one as a cold storage on an airgapped device, but make sure you set it up in a safe enviroment, while you use the other device to run your watch only wallet, it is more secure than a hardware wallet, but more difficult to set up, but you can use it until you can buy a hardware wallet.

What's Stockpile? It sounds like a third party. Withdraw your bitcoin from third parties! You don't own 2/3 of your bitcoin; someone else does. Download a lightweight Bitcoin client like Electrum (https://electrum.org/#home), create a new wallet, and send them there. Hasn't your dad told you about that already? The first rule of Bitcoin is to eliminate as much trust as possible. Don't hesitate to ask for any question.

Welcome to Bitcoin space. Fasten your seatbelt. :)

Smart kid, you will do well young man. I would learn about self custody if I was you. Get a hardware wallet for Christmas or something. You don’t need to rely on your Dad to be honest. Don’t trust, verify.

If you can put some of your pocket money, birthday money, Xmas money into bitcoin & continue regularly buying bitcoin when you start working then for sure, you will do very well & potentially be a wealthy man by the time you get to my ripe old age.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

You can try to search youtube on how properly store your Bitcoin. This way you can easily transfer your Bitcoin anywhere, though I believe it is much better to ask your father about the guidance of securing our Bitcoin.

It is a very good thing if a person got the essence of how important savings are. You are on the right track, just hold and have a diamond hand... until your holdings reach your target price.

Quote from: coinerer on February 19, 2023, 04:32:03 AM

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

It’s really impressive OP that you have been storing bitcoin at an early age. While others at your age spend their money buying gadgets, but you at your young age must have been wise enough to think about your future. Anyway, thanks to your dad as he maybe your mentor. But it’s best if you can keep them in a non-custodial wallet where you can keep them safely and hold them as long as you want without fearing that they can be hack or steal anytime. Just keep on DCAing, but never used all your money to buy bitcoin, since putting all your hard-earned money into bitcoin is never good too and advisable.

Don't know why people call him "young age"? He is a man now and he should know that this forum is not a good place for his little sister, so please don't bring her to this forum, you could help her to buy bitcoin and teach her about bitcoin.

Also you should avoid posting consecutively as it is against forum rules, And please don't waste your money on hardware wallets, those are for billionaires not for a few k in $. Reading more and posting less is a great help, because there is a lot of misinformation floating around, you could get confused if you keep asking so many questions. Take your time and learn a lot first. Store your coins on a paper, on a flash drive and on electrum with a strong password, save the password and the seed in 3 different safe places. Buy as much as you can because you will never see these low prices again. Go go go, Michael.😉

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:50:31 AM

Quote from: Jawhead999 on February 19, 2023, 04:26:50 AM

Way to go young man! Securing your Bitcoin would be your next step, you need to tell your dad to transfer it immediately to a cold wallet when you have it, or you can use non custodial wallet for the meantime like Electrum.
Stacking your Bitcoin in an exchange or a brokerage isn't safe. It's just matter of time, one of these exchange will be hacked and we don't want that to happen where our Bitcoin are stored.

Quote from: leonair on February 19, 2023, 04:55:43 PM

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

op's story is somewhat suspicious because now is the time for him to have fun and spend money to buy things but at his age he is thinking about his future and taking different approaches and accumulating money through Bitcoin is somewhat mysterious. And he hasn't posted any pictures here as proof of how much Bitcoin he's really hoarding. I think you got the point right that he could somehow concoct such a story to get Smerit ???

Quote from: coinerer on February 20, 2023, 05:27:54 AM

Quote from: leonair on February 19, 2023, 04:55:43 PM

Such events can only be seen posted by Newbie accounts. However op you might get some Smerit if you post a screenshot of your holding bitcoin with the post

I've seen so many members who creating fake story or merit fishing thread, but this thread is quite different from the other members. Although I have no proof if he's a genuine user, but since there's nothing suspicious I wouldn't judge @OP to soon.

I'm not quite sure what's the reason you guys need to see the proof of the Bitcoin he hold, but let's say the @OP can sign a message from an address where it's contain 0.01798185 BTC and the oldest transaction history was February 19, 2023 (at the time where this thread was posted), do you guys will send another $450 to his address?

Quote from: Despairo on February 20, 2023, 05:53:24 AM

Quote from: coinerer on February 20, 2023, 05:27:54 AM

Quote from: leonair on February 19, 2023, 04:55:43 PM

Such events can only be seen posted by Newbie accounts. However op you might get some Smerit if you post a screenshot of your holding bitcoin with the post

op may not provide a screenshot of his wallet and reveal which wallet he has deposited his bitcoins in due to security reasons but he can post the wallet address here that he has 0.01798185 BTC deposited in the wallet address if he can prove it Then I'll give him a +1 merit myself. I look forward to the op's reply

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

First, congratulations.
How I wish that I'm able to know bitcoin when I was younger and there are no other things that I have to think of. It's better to hold it on your own if you already know how to keep your keys. That's the major thing that you should know upon holding and owning bitcoin. Also, having that much at your age for an investment, you need to be consistent and learn to control your emotions whenever you see the price of bitcoin going down.

Quote from: Jawhead999 on February 19, 2023, 04:26:50 AM

Not sure as well what he truly meant about it because the OP doesn't stated that he's just pouring what he can afford to lose and not all his usable funds as he stated that he's still a sophomore in high school, what the OP has said is that "he is just putting all that he can into it". Nevertheless, the OP has been favored to learn about bitcoin and started his own journey at a young age with the guidance of his father. Well done, young man!

Quote from: coinerer on February 20, 2023, 06:04:14 AM

Some 16 year old kid can think mature already, especially if they came from a family who value's money so much and it looks like he is one of it because if you read his story, his dad is the one that introduce Bitcoin to him. I feel that his dad does his best to explain Bitcoin to his kid in an understandable manner.

After all, he is still a kid and he still knows how to enjoy. His family also bought him toys but there is no need for him to share it here as that wasn't important anymore. Pictures as a proof is too easy to be game because someone can just get a screenshot online or they will do some editing but a better way would be to sign a message as what other members have said.

Quote from: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM

Great going bud. You are quite young to enter into bitcoin and it's impressive you are learning more about it.
Keep learning and keep accumulating more BTC. In the next 10 years you will just be 26 but you will have a lot what others won't have.
In terms of knowledge as well as in terms of wealth. So keep doing what you are doing and stay active in this forum.

Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin => Bitcoin Discussion => Topic started by: mxfwzzwizqbz on February 19, 2023, 04:13:42 AM