Were Early Bitcoin Millionaires Just Lucky?
Confession time. During the first few months that I started investing in cryptocurrencies, I always believed that the people who got involved in Bitcoin early (pre-2017) and made millions of dollars were just lucky. They'd hit the jackpot in life, and there was little more credit to give them than that.
These days, I have a totally different perspective. These were the people who had the grit and mental fortitude to hold throughout all of the FUD and crashes. They remained hopeful at a time when everyone else became scared and jumped ship.
They were lucky in the sense that they became aware of Bitcoin before most other people. But other than that, they 100% deserve our respect and admiration. Now it's time for us to deal with the adversity that they did.
I agree 100%.
Sure, some people were in the right place at the right time, but how many of these early holders bailed out at $100?
Can you imagine if you mined a 1000-2000 btc in the early days with your GPU at home, and you login one day into your Mt.Gox account and see the BTC exchange rate sitting at $100?
The temptation to take profit would have been massive!!
I feel very fortunate to have a close friend who has been in Bitcoin since 2011. While I sadly didn't take much notice of it until this past year, he is someone I can always rely on for credible advice.
He said in June-November 2011 it fell from $32 to $2 and that was the only time it ever had a chance of vanishing off the earth. Even after the 87% from Nov 2013 to Jan 2015 he said there was panic, but for what reason? The price fell from $1166 to $170. His opinion was that even in 2013 it was so far spread out amongst owners it was here to stay.
The mainstream media like Jamie Dimon wants you to believe bitcoin will go to zero. Really..... isnt this the guy whose Chase Bank actually would have gone to zero if it weren't for a billion dollar bailout in 2008.
During this time I have more respect for my friend then ever, knowing that he has held on throughout all these years. I too believed at one point he was lucky, but now I know for certain he is the smartest person I know.
Nice article. The lucky ones are the early miners that even forgot that they mined and then found their wallets after BTC got valuable, on the other hand, hodling through all the drama Btc went through was really a skill and required high understanding of the impact that blockchain and decentralization could bring.
I give a big high 5 to all those bitcoin early adopters. Like start up founders they believed in what they were doing and I am sure also realised the risks involved in investing so early. Were they lucky yes indeed buy by taking the risk they did back in the days they also made their own luck. Maybe the lesson here is that they had a long term view and were not necessarily motivated by the prospect of immediate profit.
yeah, I'm calling bullshit on that. Living in a rich country and throwing $100 at something, holding it and becoming a millionaire is not grit. The people getting in now have to have grit or stupidity or luck or all of the above. $100 isn't going to turn into a million probably ever again. That guy who makes a couple thousand USD a year in a third world country and puts $100 in now is a nut or a million times more tenacious than those fucks.
I’ve made ridiculous gains in crypto, and, at least in my case, it had little to do with grit or market savvy. I really didn’t ever expect BTC to be worth more than a couple hundred $, and I just forgot about It for a few years, until the prices went bonkers recently.
Why do you assume that all block-chain early adopters are western? People like Ismail Ahmed founder of the World Remit startup have been around since 2010 and his story is particularly amazing as it started with him taking a personal stand against corruption.
It is a pity that you use profanity to describe people, who regardless of where they live, recognised the potential of a new technology, had the courage to invest and are now profiting from their investment.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2015/02/19/somali-entrepreneur-raises-100-million-for-money-transfer-startup-worldremit/#134d6495d5ff
They weren't just lucky but patience too..
Information and patient are right tools that could unleash wealth in today's generation.
First generation bitcoiners has such qualities
Prior to December 2017 I had never even heard o cryptocurrency. Since December i have witnessed the all time highs and now its lows. I have learned so much in the last 2 months. So i am i it for the long haul. #Hodling
Right you are! However sometimes ask myself what about changing strategies - who can see new trends coming can also take the best out of it, do you agree? Thanks anyway for sharing your enriching opinion! Am your follower for quite some time.
Also, the technology still has a long way to go. It's still risky and this is still the ground floor.
So we have to do the same. The more we HODL and resist to sell, the more prices will go up. HODLing a month here, which is not much, but still...