I have been very fortunate to build a solid position in Bitcoin, but there was a time that I had an opportunity to become a Bitcoin whale. If you are unaware, a Bitcoin whale is often considered to be someone who owns thousands of Bitcoins. A portfolio that would be worth millions today, and likely an ungodly amount in the future. However, I missed out on it, and let me tell you why!

Today we are continuing my ongoing series of crypto tales; my experiences and journey through cryptocurrency. My triumphant periods, but also my massive failures. Each person who invests in the cryptocurrency market for long enough will experience both of them. However, it is my hope that reading my mistake today, hopefully, it will help prevent you from making a similar mistake. In the crypto market, knowledge is power.

Let me set the stage for you. It was the early 2010’s and I was about to graduate from my university. I was having a real crossroads moment where I didn’t know what I wanted to do next. There was a job offer from a good company in my hometown that I had no interest in staying in. I had applied for several internships across the country and had been accepted by a few. Also, I was looking at possibly moving overseas and exploring the world. The absolute last thing on my mind was investing or finances. My sole focus was on saving to move overseas, which I would do a handful of months later.

At the time I was working a part-time job with my brother who had recently fallen down the rabbit hole of something called Bitcoin. He had bought some and was mining it at home as well. Each day at work he would be checking prices and telling me how he was up or down a lot of money. To me, Bitcoin sounded like a scam or something fake. Each day he talked to me about it. What made it great and how he felt it had the potential to change the world. He would urge me to buy some and try to get me to start mining with him. As fate would have it, I had absolutely no interest in listening to him about it. I found it boring when he would bring up the topic.

In the beginning, he talked to me about Bitcoin every day. But as time passed he likely became discouraged and began talking to me about it less and less. Until he stopped talking about it at all. Soon after, I would move overseas and completely forgot about all the conversations involving Bitcoin. 

A little more time would pass and I soon learned how cumbersome remitting money overseas is. How sending services are expensive and slow. How saving your money in an unstable currency can cause lost savings and wasted time. How you don’t have control over your own money when traveling internationally. You are at the whim of governments, banks, and customs. 

A few years passed and I finally decided that I needed to begin investing and planning for my retirement. I also needed something that would make living in different countries around the world much more convenient. Suddenly I had an epiphany and remembered all of the conversations my brother had with me talking about Bitcoin.

And so I went deep down the rabbit hole of Bitcoin, and there was no turning back. From that moment on I was a Bitcoiner and had full conviction in where the world was heading. I finally had an open mind and was willing to listen to Bitcoin and the benefits that it brings. That is the problem that so many people have. They rarely invest after they first time hearing about Bitcoin. It often takes 2, 3, 4, or many more times to hear about it until they understand it. 

The key point is that when it comes to investing and especially crypto in general. You need to always have an open mind. If I would have had an open mind back then I could have bought Bitcoin at a price of only a few dollars. 

Now some people might argue that even if I would have bought it, there is no guarantee that I would have bought a large amount, or even held onto it until today. The truth is that knowing my personality, I definitely would have. I have a semi-obsessive personality and I love to collect things. This means that I wouldn’t have bought just a handful, I would have bought several thousands of Bitcoin. Especially considering that they were only a few dollars and that I also had a good amount of available cash at the moment. 

It is a nice dream to imagine. Thankfully I was able to still get into Bitcoin at an early price point and have done very well for myself. However, there is no denying I will always wonder, “what if I would have boughten Bitcoin back then?” After we have been in the crypto market for long enough, we all will have similar stories to this.

How about you? What crypto opportunity did you miss out on?

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