How do you feel when you look at your first Bitcoin wallet?

[Odohu]

My journey into Bitcoin was entire due to the need to send payment across borders as there was FX and several other restrictions in my country. So, I joined Bitcoin just to use it for cross-border payment without knowing it could actually be a way of creating wealth in the future.

Just recently, I was tempted to check my first ever Bitcoin wallet to see what I have done in the past. I was so depressed seeing the volume of Bitcoin that have passed through my wallet without me saving a reasonable portion of it.

I have the feeling that many forum users too have similar experience; do kindly share just maybe I can feel a little better knowing that I'm not a lone.

[Text]

We share similar experiences. It has been eight years since the invention of Bitcoin, and that's when I first received my very first piece of Bitcoin. I don't consider myself an early adopter, but like you, I used or spent it without realizing its potential. I also feel regretful about not holding onto more Bitcoin from my early days. However, the important thing is that I now recognize its potential and can make better-informed decisions about how to manage my cryptocurrency holdings moving forward. We should use our past actions as learning opportunities.

For me, it's never too late to start accumulating and holding onto Bitcoin because I believe in the long-term.

[Vaskiy]

Almost everyone could've got the same feeling. None expected bitcoin market will turn this big and there will be such a level of growth in the short term. As said in the OP,  what volume of transaction have taken place in our wallets. We could've kept something for the future, because the price at which I saw bitcoin is around $300 and what is the price now. Opportunity have been missed, but the market have given access to buy/invest based on ones affordability.

[nelson4lov]

You're not alone definitely. Bitcoin was just starting to gain traction and I was naive at the time. If there was a way to correctly forecast the future, I doubt that a lot of us that made the decision to spend our bitcoin would have found a different alternative but it's not possible to know the future and that's life. I believe that what's past is past and I can only look towards the future and not the past. This is why I don't go over past wallets to avoid regrets.

What would you say are valuable lessons you learnt over time plus having gone through an aged wallet of yours? Will love to hear your thoughts. Hopefully it's more than regrets.

[Z-tight]

without knowing it could actually be a way of creating wealth in the future.

It is volatile, but it was not created to make you wealthy anyway, it was created as a p2p electronic cash, one that's permissionless and decentralized. There is nothing bad to take advantage of its volatility and make money if possible, but i just wanted to point this out, so people don't find it strange when spending their BTC's.

Just recently, I was tempted to check my first ever Bitcoin wallet to see what I have done in the past. I was so depressed seeing the volume of Bitcoin that have passed through my wallet without me saving a reasonable portion of it.

Why would you be depressed spending your "money", except you squandered all of that on unnecessary stuffs, i don't see why you should feel sad, you can't save all your BTC's, spend some when you get the chance to.

[sheenshane]

You're not alone in feeling this way about your early Bitcoin experiences and I did it last year.  I admit we have similar regrets when we look back at our wallets used and transactions.  I'm curious how much Bitcoin transaction comes to my wallet and I'm surprised it reached more than 1 Bitcoin.

IMO, this isn't good for us to have regrets and I will say, let it be.
If we think it too much, it might be disheartening to think about missed opportunities, but instead crypto isn't the end and there may still be opportunities ahead.  It isn't too late to accumulate again and forget what you have in the past, past is past.

[Nwada001]

I can no longer talk about the errors I have made in the past for not saving or accumulating bitcoin. When I had the chance to do that, I barely even visited my transaction history for my old wallets. This is because they are heartbreaking, they bring regret and discouragement, and you can also be encouraged by them if you choose to face reality.
 
To me, the issue is not with me not being able to save in the past, but now, based on how I treat the information I have on my table, now that I have realised the mistake I made in the past, how much I have saved and accumulated so far is what I should be worried about right now. In order for me not to use today's experience as a regret again in the coming future, I can use it for testimony instead.
 
Bitcoin is an asset; it is also wealth, so whenever we choose to start accumulating, even after wasting it in the past, it will still be beneficial in the coming future.

[livingfree]

Don't be depressed looking at it but be happy that you're able to know Bitcoin and you're able to use that with the actual use that you intend to.

I know that it's a hard thing to think of the early days and you're a spender but don't get it wrong. You have what you got by that time and that's the true value and use that you should be happy for.

While looking at it, it's time for you to have a separate holding of Bitcoin that you'll consider to hold it for a long time so that regret and depress you're experiencing has a solution already.

[GreatArkansas]

(...)
Just recently, I was tempted to check my first ever Bitcoin wallet to see what I have done in the past. I was so depressed seeing the volume of Bitcoin that have passed through my wallet without me saving a reasonable portion of it.

Yep, this is normal and the majority of us for sure experienced it not only you but of me, yes. I also tried to calculate the value of my Bitcoin if they still have it now.
We have many mistakes from the past but it became a lesson, especially when I converted my Bitcoin before to random altcoins.

[n00ber]

Just recently, I was tempted to check my first ever Bitcoin wallet to see what I have done in the past. I was so depressed seeing the volume of Bitcoin that have passed through my wallet without me saving a reasonable portion of it.

The future is unpredictable, so unlike you, I have never felt regretful about what happened in the past. It is simply a lesson for us and there are still many opportunities for us in the present and future, and the important thing is whether we can learn from experience and avoid repeating the same mistakes again?

Human instincts are greedy and selfish. When the opportunity is not clear, they refuse for fear of being scammed, but when the opportunity becomes clear, they feel regretful. Although bitcoin is valued much higher than it was many years ago, its opportunity is still huge. Why don't you start now to correct your past mistakes? The fact that you regret the past shows that you are thinking negatively about bitcoin in the future, because you cannot predict what will happen.

[albert0bsd]

For me, it's never too late to start accumulating and holding onto Bitcoin because I believe in the long-term.

Agree with you it's never too late for it, I am also stacking every satoshi that I can.

I did not move much bitcoin before, my first wallet doesn't have many transactions but it is from 2011, almost 12 years ago, yes we missed the opportunity but there is no way to feel regret of that, it is sad but we can't change anything of that feeling on that way, then IMO is better to look at the future with better expectatives and begin informed about bitcoin and its technical topics will be good for all of us

So, keep stacking those sats and stay curious. The bitcoin game is still young, and who knows what's coming next

We have still 29 halvings to walk for a while

[Smartvirus]

Just recently, I was tempted to check my first ever Bitcoin wallet to see what I have done in the past. I was so depressed seeing the volume of Bitcoin that have passed through my wallet without me saving a reasonable portion of it.

I have the feeling that many forum users too have similar experience; do kindly share just maybe I can feel a little better knowing that I'm not a lone.

I might just have to snipe your first paragraph out as I don’t share the same ideas as you but on the later, it’s very much the case for me and like, I do that you know. I sometimes drop by to check my withdrawals and each time, it’s more damaging than the last I checked. Even with the idea not pegged on sending coins across borders without having to go through the rigorous checks and interview sessions at the bank.
I often come to a realization that, I’ve spent far too much coins than I am hodling at the moment. When I look back to what I’ve spent it on, am not 100% encouraged to have dealt it good as well.
Worst is, I still spend some more up to this day. I still get to top up my portfolio every now and then but, the idea of hodling don’t stop me from spending. As much as I spend, I do buy as well and my hodling volume ain’t that bad. Come next bullrun, I’ll smile some more.

[virasog]

My journey into Bitcoin was entire due to the need to send payment across borders as there was FX and several other restrictions in my country. So, I joined Bitcoin just to use it for cross-border payment without knowing it could actually be a way of creating wealth in the future.

Just recently, I was tempted to check my first ever Bitcoin wallet to see what I have done in the past. I was so depressed seeing the volume of Bitcoin that have passed through my wallet without me saving a reasonable portion of it.

I have the feeling that many forum users too have similar experience; do kindly share just maybe I can feel a little better knowing that I'm not a lone.

I think everyone would have experienced this and would have regretted that they spent the bitcoin when it was so cheap. On the other hand, if they could hold on to the bitcoin, they would be millionaire by now. I have spent bitcoin under 5000$ too and at that time I was so happy but later when Bitcoin reached 19,800 at the peak of 2017 bull run, I was so depressed.

Anyways, we always learn things with experience. Now I do not spend Bitcoin unless it is extremely urgent. I keep holding and wait for the next bull season to cash out some of my bitcoin. You can accumulate too as much as you can. I know that owning one full Bitcoin is not so easy nowadays but still, any amount will be good. You would not want bitcoin reach 100,000$ and you do not have any portion of it.

[Ultegra134]

I had a similar feeling when I managed to recover my first Bitcoin wallet. It was an online wallet on Blockchain.com, and when recovered, it had $100 worth of Bitcoin in it, which is not too bad. However, when I started seeing the transactions and how much Bitcoin my wallet had transacted, I was dumbfounded. I had dealt with quite a decent volume in the past, more than triple my current balance, which is an effort of over two years. The saddest of all is that most of it was spent on digital crap, such as gaming accounts or a few Steam games. Only a small portion of it was salvaged years later.

It'll probably take me over 2 to 3 years to surpass the amount of BTC I had back then, which was then probably valued at less than $100. I wish I could turn back in time.

Edit: found my address again, oh my.

https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/addresses/btc/16BjYxYMjFcXLRFJE5UxrDXvHbW6VM5M2d

[ultrloa]

My journey into Bitcoin was entire due to the need to send payment across borders as there was FX and several other restrictions in my country. So, I joined Bitcoin just to use it for cross-border payment without knowing it could actually be a way of creating wealth in the future.

Just recently, I was tempted to check my first ever Bitcoin wallet to see what I have done in the past. I was so depressed seeing the volume of Bitcoin that have passed through my wallet without me saving a reasonable portion of it.

I have the feeling that many forum users too have similar experience; do kindly share just maybe I can feel a little better knowing that I'm not a lone.

Although we nay regret for not saving any bitcoins earned from the past still I'm glad that I still use this up till today and just move on with that chapter since at the end of the day we happily use that balances on any means. And for sure we are so satisfied at that time so maybe learn to move on from those but instead make that amount pass on your wallet as inspiration to gain more. Since for sure if crypto will exist for more years we still have many opportunity to gain a lot of money from our investments.

[hatshepsut93]

Just recently, I was tempted to check my first ever Bitcoin wallet to see what I have done in the past. I was so depressed seeing the volume of Bitcoin that have passed through my wallet without me saving a reasonable portion of it.

I too have a lot of spending transactions in my first Bitcoin wallet, and I don't feel any regret, because I have enough BTC from those earlier days to make me happy today. Sure, it would be great to have even more, but it could also be a lot worse if I wasted all my coins. In that case I would have to just accept the past mistakes, learn from them and work towards the future goals.

[Darker45]

When I first purchased Bitcoin, the price was only a few hundred dollars. A few coins was a relatively small amount. I accumulated double digits in Bitcoin. And I also had a number of altcoins. Valued in Bitcoin, at the peak of my crypto portfolio, my worth must already be considered huge today.

It's understandable to feel a little bit sad looking back, but we don't have any control of the past. I've probably learned my lessons, and although the same opportunity won't be coming back anymore, I'm kind of making up and am more determined to hodl.

[philipma1957]

I really did not believe it til 2017.

I got in 2012.  I have made money but not as much as I could have.

Maybe 200k in profits since 2012 but if I held more I could have made 2 or 3 million .

[bittraffic]

Thats probably the most of us are feeling. I haven't look at it since 2017.  I just look at it now and it felt like this could have a lot of coins if I just did the right thing during my first experience of bullrun. I was unaware that bear market could actually drain the price down. If I was just aware, I would have coverted all to stablecoin.

[SeriouslyGiveaway]

My journey into Bitcoin was entire due to the need to send payment across borders as there was FX and several other restrictions in my country. So, I joined Bitcoin just to use it for cross-border payment without knowing it could actually be a way of creating wealth in the future.

Bitcoin is for global transactions, no censorship and it can be used as investment asset too but to create wealth, it will make you greed. Investment in Bitcoin is great but if you are greed, you will do some wrong things like making loan, using leverage, sell all assets you have to buy bitcoin without any savings for emergencies. It's all risky choice.

Just recently, I was tempted to check my first ever Bitcoin wallet to see what I have done in the past. I was so depressed seeing the volume of Bitcoin that have passed through my wallet without me saving a reasonable portion of it.

When I look at my Bitcoin wallet first time, my feeling is empty. Because I don't have any bitcoin in that wallet, it is only a software with user interface for me to look.

It takes me time to understand some basic tabs in that wallet and I have to search to learn how to use it, back up.

I don't know what wallet you used but you can use this filter tool from bitcoin.org to choose your wallet and secure your wallet tips.