Warning! This article was written by me a very long time ago, and no longer accurately reflects my views! I am no longer into crypto. Reader discretion is advised.
This article isn't a tutorial on how to get into trading with cryptocurrencies and investing. If you are already convinced, just go Google the relevant question. This article is for the naysayers who still doubt the potential of crypto, and still need convincing.
To do the convincing, I'll tell all the naysayers my personal story:
My life for seven coins!
My day job currently earns me 200 000 HUF per month, which is not too shabby by Hungarian standards. As of the time of writing this article - 2021, 20th of April - the exchange rate between the HUF and USD is so that a single American dollar can be exchanged for 299.95 HUF, which means that my monthly salary is roughly 666.77 USD.
How the hell is that "not too shabby"?! That's little more than half of the average American's rent (1 120$ in 2020)! And therein lies the deception. Yes, if you take my 200 000 HUF and get it exchanged for USD, you'll only get 666.77 USD, but this is deceptive: costs of living are much lower in Hungary than in America. Before me and my siblings sold my dead father's apartment room, we used to rent it for 30 000 HUF a month, which is just 100$ using today's rates of exchange. In other words, controlling for costs of living instead of relying purely on the official rate of exchange, my monthly salary of 200 000 HUF isn't really comparable to 666$, but more to 2000$.
Where was I going again?
So yes, my monthly salary is 200 000 HUF (666.77 USD), so my yearly salary is 2 400 000 (8001.24 USD). I am 28 years old as of the time of writing the article, so if we're being generous and assume that I'm going to live to the age of 78 (very unlikely, given my obesity and other factors), then, for 50 years, my salary would be 120 000 000 HUF (400 062 USD).
As of the time of writing this article, 400 062 USD could buy me 7.09 bitcoins.
Why is this so relevant? Well, you see...
A wasted opportunity
In the December of 2011, a single bitcoin had the cost of a measly 2 USD, and a single American dollar could be exchanged for 224.85 HUF. In other words, the aforementioned 7.09 bitcoins would have set me back by a measly 14.18 USD (3 188.373 HUF), but let's round it up to 15 USD (3 372.75 HUF).
That's right. An investment of a puny 15 USD - or 3.4k HUF - in the December of 2011 would have secured me enough bitcoins to pay for my 50-year retirement fund in 2021 (400 062 USD), assuming that I would have held onto the bitcoins until the April of 2021, and only sold them now.
But alas, in 2011, I was not even aware of the existence of bitcoin to begin with, let alone aware of the future potential behind cryptocurrency.
Obviously, what I neglected to mention so far, that before 2014, you couldn't just buy bitcoins - or other cryptocurrencies - like you can today, at least, it wasn't as nearly convenient as it is today. Sure, there were a few (rather fraudulent) exchanges, but for the most part, you had to either mine them or get them from faucets. But that is completely besides the point.
The point is, that if I had the same amount of foresight in 2011 as I have hindsight in 2021, I would be wealthy enough to retire for life - after all, everyone who reads my articles knows, that I'm not too fond of work.
The moral of the story
So what is the moral of my personal tragedy? What is there to be learned from my story?
I personally think that it's quite simple:
Always do your research, don't be ignorant of new things. You may just learn about a goldmine hiding in plain sight. Because that's what bitcoin was back in the days, before it got famous.
Some investments are very long-term, as in, 10-year or more. Don't get impatient.
Hold onto your crypto. Don't sell it after the few rise in its price. Those couple of sh*tcoins you just bought might be your retirement fund one day.
Get into things while you can. Because if you wait too long, it might be late.
I only got into cryptocurrencies in 2021, and it's highly unlikely that I'll be trading and speculating myself into an early retirement any time soon. However, I'm still investing in hopes of - even if marginal - returns.
When something new comes up, don't underestimate its potential.
People called DogeCoin just a meme, and look where it is now: worth one third of a dollar.
He who dares wins.
Without knowledge of the future, blowing all your lifesavings on one cryptocurrency or memecoin is a terrible decision. But, in hindsight, if you spent all your life savings on buying bitcoin back in 2013, you'd be a billionaire by 2021.
Get into crypto, because you can.
