First heard about #Bitcoin in 2016. I don't blame myself for missing out from 2009-2015, as I wasn't in those circles and that's fine.
I judged it as something shady to be avoided, since I didn't identify with Mr Robot, and so I left it alone.
By 2017I got interested in what turned out to be a shitcoin. Peak ico season and this token was right in my 'professional space', the company was backed by a VC I recognised and they were exhibiting at a conference I regularly attended.
Dunning Kruger Effect kicked in hard and I became an expert overnight, explaining the business model to my hapless colleagues and building up the courage to sink some personal savings into this bleeding edge. Finally, a break for the little man, a chance to get ahead.
So instead of giving my cryptovirginity to Bitcoin, I marches confidently into the arms of Ethereum and then started exchanging into tokens. First one, then two, and before I knew it I was whoring after a gang of them. Each time I justified it to myself. I knew the domain and pretended to understand the hype in the white paper. Driven by sunk costs I kept going back for more, till I had more tokens than a car wash and was drunk on the hopium that comes before despair.
Then nothing.
I woke up to Bitcoin in 2018. Started reading quality material like the Bitcoin Standard, and decided to get a bit so that I would focus my attention more clearly on it going forward. Best decision I made.
Over the course of 2019 I waited for the shitcoins I held to exit pump, and somehow I was blessed to catch the wave each time. I immediately exchanged into Bitcoin, and little by little my holding grew.
By 2021 I was almost a Bitcoin Maxi, but still clinging to a couple of projects like Monero. At this point I realised that my biggest enemy wasn't greed or gambling degeneracy, it was pride.
If I'd stayed humble and stacked sats my Bitcoin holding would have been 10x what I actually own today. But I'm content because I grew personally through the discipline that came with being a Bitcoiner. I'm glad I learned enough to hold through all the turbulence, and to normalise self-custody and pivoting to a Bitcoin Standard. If I hadn't done that then my current holding would have ended up being zero and I'd still be subsidising shitcoins and trading algorithms with my family savings. At least this way we're debt free and on track to leave a good legacy for our children. Daddy will be legend after all.
I'm Berean.
I'm a Bitcoiner.
This is my story.