.

[RationalSpeculator]

You are 13 and have a few years so you need to plan for the possibility don't need to worry that bitcoin prices could crash.

I am uber bullish but you need to only invest would you can afford to lose invest enough so it makes a difference. A college education is not something you should risk losing. An opportunity like this is not something you should risk losing.

If you keep your money in bitcoins be sure to work hard in school you won't have to work hard in school and make sure that even if you have no money for college that you can qualify for scholarships because of your good grades. and will be able to travel the world thanks to being financially independent.  

Unbelievable.

Just had to bluntly correct that.

I don't think you are responsible to say these to a 13 years old young man. It's not funny. Money is not the only thing in one's life.

Schools are prisons for many children. I don't think you are responsible putting your kids there if they prefer not to go. A free healthy man does not need to go to college. He can follow his passion and creates his own job. This young man is doing exactly that yet many here come with school and college propaganda. Also note that he asked no lectures...

[goxed]

encrypt the wallet and keep 2 copies

[vokain]

forget everything else and remember this. Try to follow and at least explore every opportunity you're given. Whether that be college or Bitcoin, traveling the world or with love. Every opportunity. An entrepreneur finds opportunities where others don't and/or won't.

This is what life is for.

[adamstgBit]

just make sure you don't loss them some how

[ArticMine]

The key here is that this is a college fund and the OP is 13 so we are looking at a hold of 5 years before the funds are spent. The choice the OP makes in going to college or not is irrelevant. What really matters here is the 5 year time to hold the BTC. Now let me make this clear I believe there is a very good chance that the BTC/USD rate will drop by 50% or more is the next days or weeks; however I also believe that there is an even greater chance that the BTC/USD rate would be over 10,000 and possibly over 100,000 by the time the OP reaches age 18.

So the downside is that an 18 year old is short 4200 USD. 4200 USD is a drop in the bucket towards a college education and most 18 year olds can easily earn that kind of money in a job over a few months. The upside on the other hand is that the 12 BTC would be worth 1.2 million USD. Not only is this more than enough to pay for a college education and medical or legal school but  the OP will have a fair amount of funds left over to help his parents should they get into financial trouble in an economic collapse.

From a financial point of view I consider this a sound decision but only if the OP keeps these funds in BTC until the OP's 18th birthday

Should the OP have asked permission from his parents? On the surface the answer may be yes; however this is a situation where asking for forgiveness after the fact makes more sense than seeking permission beforehand. I am 56 years old I must say this is a situation where I find myself trusting the judgement of a 13 year old, the OP, over that of someone in their 30s or 40s, the parents. Why because a 13 year old has nothing invested in the current economic system, while the parents are likely at the stage in their lives where they have the most invested in the current economic system. We most also remember that the parents made the choice of providing exclusive signing authority over the account to the OP. The key here is that both the OP and the parents must be prepared to take full responsibility for their actions regardless of the outcome and respect each other views on the matter even if they disagree.

thanks, thats good info.

if we get a 50% crash i will accept it and hopefully things will turn out ok. i'm quite stubborn so i'm not selling any, although if btc goes to $10,000, maybe i'll sell 0.5 to cover myself.

my parents wouldn't have agreed, and i also agree $4000 is not a lot of money. plus who knows what the dollar will be worth in 3-5years?  

I will stay with my recommendation to not sell a single satoshi until your 18th birthday, even if the price rises to 10,000 USD or even 1,000,000 USD beforehand.

Edit: If you need to move your funds to a different wallet and spend some transaction fees in the process just use some USD to buy BTC to cover the transaction fees.

[BitThink]

You are 13 and have a few years so you need to plan for the possibility don't need to worry that bitcoin prices could crash.

I am uber bullish but you need to only invest would you can afford to lose invest enough so it makes a difference. A college education is not something you should risk losing. An opportunity like this is not something you should risk losing.

If you keep your money in bitcoins be sure to work hard in school you won't have to work hard in school and make sure that even if you have no money for college that you can qualify for scholarships because of your good grades. and will be able to travel the world thanks to being financially independent.  

Unbelievable.

Just had to bluntly correct that.

I don't think you are responsible to say these to a 13 years old young man. It's not funny. Money is not the only thing in one's life.

Schools are prisons for children. I don't think you are responsible putting your kids there if they prefer not to go. A free healthy man stays away from college. He does not look for a job, he follows his passion and creates his own job. This young man is doing exactly that and many people here just try to destroy it with school and college propaganda. Also note that he asked no lectures, many here do just that.

It depends. To one who is not worrying his future job hunting, college (not a primary school or a high school) is definitely not a prison. He can learn what he really wants to learn. Besides there's nowhere else can one meet so many peers and make real friends. This has nothing to do with whether he will look for a job or creates his own job. Pressure of living in a college is much lower than spin off a start-up company.

Moreover, everyone here expresses his own opinion only. No one is giving lectures.  

[vokain]

The key here is that this is a college fund and the OP is 13 so we are looking at a hold of 5 years before the funds are spent. The choice the OP makes in going to college or not is irrelevant. What really matters here is the 5 year time to hold the BTC. Now let me make this clear I believe there is a very good chance that the BTC/USD rate will drop by 50% or more is the next days or weeks; however I also believe that there is an even greater chance that the BTC/USD rate would be over 10,000 and possibly over 100,000 by the time the OP reaches age 18.

So the downside is that an 18 year old is short 4200 USD. 4200 USD is a drop in the bucket towards a college education and most 18 year olds can easily earn that kind of money in a job over a few months. The upside on the other hand is that the 12 BTC would be worth 1.2 million USD. Not only is this more than enough to pay for a college education and medical or legal school but  the OP will have a fair amount of funds left over to help his parents should they get into financial trouble in an economic collapse.

From a financial point of view I consider this a sound decision but only if the OP keeps these funds in BTC until the OP's 18th birthday

Should the OP have asked permission from his parents? On the surface the answer may be yes; however this is a situation where asking for forgiveness after the fact makes more sense than seeking permission beforehand. I am 56 years old I must say this is a situation where I find myself trusting the judgement of a 13 year old, the OP, over that of someone in their 30s or 40s, the parents. Why because a 13 year old has nothing invested in the current economic system, while the parents are likely at the stage in their lives where they have the most invested in the current economic system. We most also remember that the parents made the choice of providing exclusive signing authority over the account to the OP. The key here is that both the OP and the parents must be prepared to take full responsibility for their actions regardless of the outcome and respect each other views on the matter even if they disagree.

thanks, thats good info.

if we get a 50% crash i will accept it and hopefully things will turn out ok. i'm quite stubborn so i'm not selling any, although if btc goes to $10,000, maybe i'll sell 0.5 to cover myself.

my parents wouldn't have agreed, and i also agree $4000 is not a lot of money. plus who knows what the dollar will be worth in 3-5years? 

I will stay with my recommendation to not sell a single satoshi until your 18th birthday, even if the price rises to 10,000 USD or even 1,000,000 USD beforehand.

at that point he won't have to sell back to fiat

[the joint]

Have you discovered the joys of masturbation yet?

You should get perma-banned for this.

It seems you haven't discovered the joys of masturbation yet.

It seems he's 13!

[Topazan]

Make sure you keep plenty of backups in a variety of mediums, and that you keep those backups safe.  I wouldn't trust usb sticks, they tend to quit working unexpectedly.  A paper wallet might be better if you have a good place to store it.

If I was your age, I'd be worried about my family accidentally overwriting my usb drives or throwing out my paper wallets...

[goxed]

forget everything else and remember this. Try to follow and at least explore every opportunity you're given. Whether that be college or Bitcoin, traveling the world or with love. Every opportunity. An entrepreneur finds opportunities where others don't and/or won't.

This is what life is for.

Good one man.

[Pruden]

noob2001, everything about the financial aspect of your decision has already been discussed, but I feel a very important point is overlooked: You made the assumption your parents would never find out.

They will.

You can tell them what you have done, explaining with due detail your motivations, or you can let them find out by themselves that their son does not love them enough to share with them what he expects from life.

It's your choice.

[Buffer Overflow]

encrypt the wallet and keep 2 copies

Just 2? I've got backups in 8 different places.

[landho]

Lots of people saying hold no matter how high the price goes. Don't forget to hold when the price goes down, which if you bought them recently it's very likely to.

If you look at the charts for May-June 2011, bitcoin reached $30 at one point, and then crashed $2-4 for a long time. Basically it was low long enough for a lot of people to cut their losses at a low price. It takes so long if your watching it, the temptation to try and trade is very high. Basically it often takes so long that you really think there is no chance it will ever happen.

Personally I will be very surprised if you don't lose in the next couple of months, at least temporarily.

[DoomDumas]

Hold them, in a safe way, like paper wallet, with multiple copy.. Strive to survive without cashing those BTC.. If needed, get a job or two.. Keep those as long as possible.. They should be valued much more than in your best dream.. You may be fiat millionaire within a decade, and at this time, I bet you will prefer to spend BTC than convert them to a million of worthless paper bills

You have balls, and I would have done the same !

Keep them as long as possible, in a safe manner !

Maybe you'll never need to be slave to a job for the rest of your life, anf this within 5 years IMO

[ChanceCoats123]

Reading this thread has really kind of made me cringe. Now I suppose most people would just say I am defending my own decision to go to (an expensive public) university, but I've set myself aside.

While school truly does suck, you would be surprised by how much better it does get. And while this fantastic resource called the internet does greatly aide in learning on your own, I have encountered numerous homeschooled and self-taught students during my time at school and none of them seem nearly as adept as their peers. Working alone and learning that way is a fantastic foundation for your continued education, but spending the time and money to go to a real college is worth MUCH more than the cost of tuition, books and living. It means job security if BTC ever does crash. It means learning about something which truly interests you. It means meeting new people and spending time with people that, odds are, you will stay in touch with for the rest of your life.

Sitting here and typing now... When I graduate with my B.S. in Computer Engineering, Even if BTC are high enough for me to live the rest of my life not working a day, I will get a job. Because what I am learning about right now is something I have wanted to be a part of since I was little. And no amount of money could get me to say, "I no longer have an interest in how IC's fundamentally work, and how they run the world, and how I can create and implement them to help me and everyone I know."

So I guess I should probably say that my BTC exposure is quite a bit larger than yours, and I have a similar approach to just wait it out (while also increasing my BTC holdings), but my mom (parents are divorced) knows all about it. She knows my initial USD investment, and my current holdings, and is pretty up to date on their USD valuation (like that means anything).

So while you're spending your time reading, and thinking of traveling world, find something you're really interested in and decide to learn about that. I'm willing to bet that once you spend more time learning about something you really love, you would never just give it up.

Oh, and it's probably a good idea to tell your parents. Online account or not, they will get a monthly, or quarterly, or biannual or annual statement and they will wonder where the hell $4K+ went.

Ps. Don't say "$4k isn't a lot of money" unless you can, on a whim, come up with that much money yourself.

[ajax3592]

@OP - Fantastic job there bro, you'r secure now for your life Do what you want, never care about what society will think. You have perfect thought process at present.

@ Rest Members - Im 21 and have $3000 of savings from working for a year. I just heard about Bitcoins a week ago and have been addicted since then and I am waiting for a price to buy 5 BTC for <$1500 and 40 LiteCoins for $150.
But the thing is I've been lusting for a sports bike since 6 months that's going to be launched in Feb 14' and would cost $4000. So what do you guys suggest, I spend my whole $3000 for 10 BTCs and keep the bike on hold for another 6 months or get 5 BTC + LTC for now and buy the bike too ?

[vokain]

Reading this thread has really kind of made me cringe. Now I suppose most people would just say I am defending my own decision to go to (an expensive public) university, but I've set myself aside.

While school truly does suck, you would be surprised by how much better it does get. And while this fantastic resource called the internet does greatly aide in learning on your own, I have encountered numerous homeschooled and self-taught students during my time at school and none of them seem nearly as adept as their peers. Working alone and learning that way is a fantastic foundation for your continued education, but spending the time and money to go to a real college is worth MUCH more than the cost of tuition, books and living. It means job security if BTC ever does crash. It means learning about something which truly interests you. It means meeting new people and spending time with people that, odds are, you will stay in touch with for the rest of your life.

Sitting here and typing now... When I graduate with my B.S. in Computer Engineering, Even if BTC are high enough for me to live the rest of my life not working a day, I will get a job. Because what I am learning about right now is something I have wanted to be a part of since I was little. And no amount of money could get me to say, "I no longer have an interest in how IC's fundamentally work, and how they run the world, and how I can create and implement them to help me and everyone I know."

So I guess I should probably say that my BTC exposure is quite a bit larger than yours, and I have a similar approach to just wait it out (while also increasing my BTC holdings), but my mom (parents are divorced) knows all about it. She knows my initial USD investment, and my current holdings, and is pretty up to date on their USD valuation (like that means anything).

So while you're spending your time reading, and thinking of traveling world, find something you're really interested in and decide to learn about that. I'm willing to bet that once you spend more time learning about something you really love, you would never just give it up.

Oh, and it's probably a good idea to tell your parents. Online account or not, they will get a monthly, or quarterly, or biannual or annual statement and they will wonder where the hell $4K+ went.

Ps. Don't say "$4k isn't a lot of money" unless you can, on a whim, come up with that much money yourself.

+millions

I am remarkably like  you Chance


Also, tidbit from experience, I got my mom (parents divorced) involved. I got a lot more capital from her than the $2k tuition refund check (see school does have its benefits, you can take out dirty fiat loans for really cheap!) alone could've afforded me in Bitcoins.

[bee7]

@OP ... Do what you want, never care about what society will think.

@OP: While it the statement above is truth to some extent, you should not take it as a rule of your life: you never know where you have to come back in the future.

[vokain]

@ Rest Members - Im 21 and have $3000 of savings from working for a year. I just heard about Bitcoins a week ago and have been addicted since then and I am waiting for a price to buy 5 BTC for <$1500 and 40 LiteCoins for $150.
But the thing is I've been lusting for a sports bike since 6 months that's going to be launched in Feb 14' and would cost $4000. So what do you guys suggest, I spend my whole $3000 for 10 BTCs and keep the bike on hold for another 6 months or get 5 BTC + LTC for now and buy the bike too ?

I've wanted a motorcycle since HS, and had enough at the end of freshman year of college to buy one. I bought bitcoins instead. I have a motorcycle now. And bitcoins.

[the joint]

...

Oh, and it's probably a good idea to tell your parents. Online account or not, they will get a monthly, or quarterly, or biannual or annual statement and they will wonder where the hell $4K+ went.

Ps. Don't say "$4k isn't a lot of money" unless you can, on a whim, come up with that much money yourself.

It would be pretty funny if they find out tonight, make him cash it out, and he gives them back $800 extra