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.
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.
