Op: How long were you running a node before you actually were able to get your hands on bitcoins?
I had 0.01 bitcoin (received from a friend) for a good 2-3 weeks in my wallet before I actually traded USD for bitcoins on an exchange.
It's different for everybody but most of those nodes are probably popping up out of curiousity for now.
I actually got the blockchain downloaded and started mining 3 BTC/day on my one GPU the day I found out about Bitcoin.
Man...
I still haven't been able to figure out how to mine in the first place. Not that it would be of any use right now anyway. My computer can
barely run Skyrim.
Did you make a fortune?
I would have if I had held on to them all. I sold or spent almost every Bitcoin I've mined though, many at low prices ($3-$6 during the 2011 climb, and more at $5 or less after the crash). And that amazing mining period where difficulty was less than 100,000 only lasted for a short time. It didn't take long before it was over 1M. At my peak, once I received the 6 new GPU's I ordered a couple days after finding out about Bitcoin, I was generating 8 BTC/day.
I think I've mined somewhere around 600 BTC, but I only have 10 BTC to show for it today. Hindsight is 20/20, and especially back then, I wouldn't have believed you if you told me Bitcoin was ever going to go back above $31. But part of the reason I sold is the financial difficulties that I was going through at the time, with our first child, new house, work life changes, etc. Our annual household income has actually gone down every year for the past 5 years, and the only reason we've been able to pull out of it ahead is because of Bitcoin. I still made around $5000 off that initial $1100 investment into GPUs/computers, and I'm set to be reaping the proceeds from additional investments as soon as BFL starts delivering singles.
I
am was a weak hand. Now that we're on a more financially stable ground, I'll be very likely holding the vast majority of Bitcoins I mine in the future.
Really awesome post - thanks for sharing. Hopefully the experience and knowledge gained allows you to continue to do well.
