The Winklevoss twins, Barry Silbert, Micheal Saylor, and Elon Musk are but a few of the many billionaires that were created and expanded because of Bitcoin. These early adopters discovered the technology more than a decade ago, believed in the vision, and bought in early. And it has paid off for all of them in ways the average man could never imagine.
According to Coindesk, of the 81 million Bitcoin users worldwide, more than 60% of them are from the past five years. Meaning, that the great majority of Bitcoin holders are relatively new to crypto and blockchain technology.
This is great news, according to billionaire crypto Youtuber Kyle Chasse, who invested $30,000 back in 2010 into Bitcoin and is now worth well over $1 billion. The Bitcoin Youtuber explains that as blockchain technology progresses so too will the number of newcomers and this is ultimately good news for the crypto market at large.
Because as Kyle Chasse explains, faster adoption will not only raise prices but will also aid in the development of other great projects that are changing the way our world works. Kyle isn’t alone in his thinking, there is a slew of legacy investors that are chiming into the current state of the market, what to expect, and what a fully Bitcoin future looks like.
Where Are They Now?
When Eric Fineman pleaded to his grandmother to lend him $1,000, he knew he was onto something big. Something that would change the course of the world forever. Eric even pleaded with his older brother to chip in and together he was able to invest a humble $1,200 into the crypto community back in 2010.
Eric Fineman was 11 years old when he decided to become a Bitcoin investor, a 6th grader with the visionary mind of a 50-year-old. And so, Eric invested his $1,200 into Bitcoin. He made a small fortune but he wasn’t finished there. With the profits from his Bitcoin investment, he spent the next 5 years building his very own education company.
A company that would become so profitable that it was offered to be bought, and so in January 2015, Eric Fineman sold his first company. During that time, he was offered either $100,000 for the company or 300 Bitcoin. An equivalent of nearly $300 million in today’s worth—making Eric Fineman one of America’s wealthiest self-made teenagers.
This is one example of what happened to the early investors in Bitcoin—did all of them have such a fortuitous journey?
The Stories of The Bitcoin Few
Of the many celebrity Bitcoin investors who made billions, none of their stories are as profound as the average person who bet on an idea and turned it into gold. These following investors don’t fly in a private jet or throw lavish Gatsby-esque parties on their boats, they are folks like you and me. Folks who decided to believe in something greater than themselves and they’re now reaping the benefits.
Jared Kenna
Jared, like so many of the younger generations, first heard about Bitcoin in the early 2010s. Back then, Bitcoin was only trading for a measly $.20 each. One bitcoin wasn’t worth enough to buy even a bottle of water.
It was then that Jared pooled his savings together and went all in at twenty cents. Then Bitcoin jumped to $258 and it was then that Jared took his profits. Making a small fortune from a simple twenty cents to amassing over $30 million.
Charlie Shrem
Only a teenager when he first invested in Bitcoin, Charlie bought in when Bitcoin was trading for $3 to $4. Then when prices began to slowly move up to the $20 mark, Charlie went a step further and put a few thousand of his parents’ savings into the investment.
Lo and behold, the investment paid off and Charlie was able to open the first restaurant in New York to accept crypto, Evr. Charlie is now running the gastropub based in Manhattan while premiering his new store, BitInstant, where customers can purchase bitcoins from a brick-and-mortar store.
Winklevoss Brothers
The famed twins who helped Mark Zuckerberg come up with the idea for Facebook—these early adopters were some of the very first major players in the crypto space. Lending thousands of dollars into seed money for upcoming projects and the launch of their very own blockchain, Gemini.
Its no doubt that the Winklevoss Twins remain at the forefront of technological innovation. They are yet another example of belief manifesting itself into reality through the power of blockchain technology.
