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I learned about Bitcoin here when it was just a whitepaper, but didn't recognize the opportunity then. A year ago, another user mentioned Monero so I looked in

I learned about Bitcoin here when it was just a whitepaper, but didn't recognize the opportunity then. A year ago, another user mentioned Monero so I looked into and discovered it's more "bitcoin" than Bitcoin and bought what I could. I'm not a millionaire, but it sure has helped me financially, so I'm really appreciative that I took advantage of that opportunity. EDIT: and for something a little more intrinsic: Everyone's experiences on different things. I've read lots of great comments on raising kids, and hope to take advantage of that shared knowledge when I have a family.

kbenson 9y ago
Tell me about it. I remember when it was single digit dollars, and it was a curiosity, but it didn't hold my interest. Then it was double digits, and I was like, "huh." Then is was somewhere around $40, and I thought "maybe I should get a couple? But money's kind of tight, maybe later." Then it was over $100, and I thought "surely this can't go much higher? This definitely isn't the time to buy." I thought that same thing when it hit over $300, and over $700, and then over $3000, and then when it was well over $15k. I've learned a valuable lesson. I'm far too risk averse to invest in something like this, because I'm still not sure I could convince myself to invest even though it seems to have hit a bottom and is climbing again.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- snowwrestler 9y ago
  I looked at bitcoin very early, when it was pitched as digital currency free from the problems of fiat money. My impression was that the proponents did not understand currency and that bitcoin would make a terrible currency. As it turns out, I was right. But by being right, I missed a huge speculative windfall. While it would have been nice to make a bunch of money for nothing, I don't really have regrets because my decision was sound at the time. I still wonder whether the early bitcoin marketing was uninformed but they lucked out... or if the early proponents knew it was a terrible currency, but that they had to sell it that way early in order to inflate the speculative bubble.
  - godelski 9y ago
    Most people I know invested in still talk about it as a currency. We talk transaction rates and all that, but they are still convinced it is the "money of the future." So I think a lot still luck out. There are clear market manipulations. But that's why I still stay out. I do not see it as a missed opportunity.
    - TremendousJudge 9y ago
      I take issue with the term 'invest' being used here. When somebody invests in something, they expect returns to come in the form of dividends, interest, or something of the sort. When somebody buys something because they expect to sell it later at a higher price, they aren't investing, they're speculating
      - lloyd-christmas 9y ago
        > When somebody buys something because they expect to sell it later at a higher price I guess I should dump my AMZN, GOOG, and FB stock. I can't believe what I could have been thinking when I put money in such a speculative product like Amazon. Add in Berkshire Hathaway, and 4 of the top 10 largest companies in the world don't pay out. Between the 4 of them, they account for more than 10% of the S&P500, and they are just 4 of the nearly 100 companies in the S&P500 that don't pay dividends.
        shostrift 9y ago
        If you can't tell the difference between the fundamentals of bitcoin vs FAG maybe you should stick to ETFs.
    - bobbles 9y ago
      Sounds like your views on transaction rates are about a month out of date now
      - godelski 9y ago
- wyldfire 9y ago
  > I've learned a valuable lesson. I'm far too risk averse to invest in something like this I find myself often bathing in regret and telling myself "if I could travel back in time, I'd just ...". But these days I try to snap myself out of it and say "You are traveling in time, but you're traveling forward in time -- take that risk now and travel into the future and reap your rewards." It doesn't always work, but it helps give me some perspective.
cheschire 9y ago
I remember reading about meltdown and spectre here first, and thinking “huh, I should short intel stock before this goes public.” I was too green to understand just how far ahead HN is though, and I just watched instead as it all played out without me.
- aw3c2 9y ago
  There really has not been a long-term drop in the stock so that would have been (and still would be) very risky. You were smart not doing it.
  - cheschire 9y ago
    Yes, shorting a stock is not a long term investment tactic, and it is risky. "Smart" is, in my opinion, too subjective a term to use in this particular situation. I was too risk averse at the time to take action, and part of my risk aversion was based on my lack of trust in the foresight of HN articles.
- gnode 9y ago
  I think there's still a lot of uncertainty in this, given that Intel can benefit from everyone replacing their broken processors with new ones.
novalis78 9y ago
My experience as well - Bitcoin was still in single digits when HN made me stumble over it. Many ycombinator applications and projects later I launched a Bitcoin related company and couldn't be happier. The first HN discussion I saw was the one where someone had asked how he could store data and make sure it's still readable 40 years later... the answers where so smart, funny, detailed and out of this world it got me hooked. Thanks HN &a community.
- abhishekjha 9y ago
  Which story?

kbenson 9y ago

Tell me about it. I remember when it was single digit dollars, and it was a curiosity, but it didn't hold my interest. Then it was double digits, and I was like, "huh." Then is was somewhere around $40, and I thought "maybe I should get a couple? But money's kind of tight, maybe later." Then it was over $100, and I thought "surely this can't go much higher? This definitely isn't the time to buy." I thought that same thing when it hit over $300, and over $700, and then over $3000, and then when it was well over $15k. I've learned a valuable lesson. I'm far too risk averse to invest in something like this, because I'm still not sure I could convince myself to invest even though it seems to have hit a bottom and is climbing again.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
snowwrestler 9y ago
I looked at bitcoin very early, when it was pitched as digital currency free from the problems of fiat money. My impression was that the proponents did not understand currency and that bitcoin would make a terrible currency. As it turns out, I was right. But by being right, I missed a huge speculative windfall. While it would have been nice to make a bunch of money for nothing, I don't really have regrets because my decision was sound at the time. I still wonder whether the early bitcoin marketing was uninformed but they lucked out... or if the early proponents knew it was a terrible currency, but that they had to sell it that way early in order to inflate the speculative bubble.
- godelski 9y ago
  Most people I know invested in still talk about it as a currency. We talk transaction rates and all that, but they are still convinced it is the "money of the future." So I think a lot still luck out. There are clear market manipulations. But that's why I still stay out. I do not see it as a missed opportunity.
  - TremendousJudge 9y ago
    I take issue with the term 'invest' being used here. When somebody invests in something, they expect returns to come in the form of dividends, interest, or something of the sort. When somebody buys something because they expect to sell it later at a higher price, they aren't investing, they're speculating
    - lloyd-christmas 9y ago
      > When somebody buys something because they expect to sell it later at a higher price I guess I should dump my AMZN, GOOG, and FB stock. I can't believe what I could have been thinking when I put money in such a speculative product like Amazon. Add in Berkshire Hathaway, and 4 of the top 10 largest companies in the world don't pay out. Between the 4 of them, they account for more than 10% of the S&P500, and they are just 4 of the nearly 100 companies in the S&P500 that don't pay dividends.
      - shostrift 9y ago
        If you can't tell the difference between the fundamentals of bitcoin vs FAG maybe you should stick to ETFs.
  - bobbles 9y ago
    Sounds like your views on transaction rates are about a month out of date now
    - godelski 9y ago
wyldfire 9y ago
> I've learned a valuable lesson. I'm far too risk averse to invest in something like this I find myself often bathing in regret and telling myself "if I could travel back in time, I'd just ...". But these days I try to snap myself out of it and say "You are traveling in time, but you're traveling forward in time -- take that risk now and travel into the future and reap your rewards." It doesn't always work, but it helps give me some perspective.

cheschire 9y ago

I remember reading about meltdown and spectre here first, and thinking “huh, I should short intel stock before this goes public.” I was too green to understand just how far ahead HN is though, and I just watched instead as it all played out without me.

aw3c2 9y ago
There really has not been a long-term drop in the stock so that would have been (and still would be) very risky. You were smart not doing it.
- cheschire 9y ago
  Yes, shorting a stock is not a long term investment tactic, and it is risky. "Smart" is, in my opinion, too subjective a term to use in this particular situation. I was too risk averse at the time to take action, and part of my risk aversion was based on my lack of trust in the foresight of HN articles.
gnode 9y ago
I think there's still a lot of uncertainty in this, given that Intel can benefit from everyone replacing their broken processors with new ones.

novalis78 9y ago

My experience as well - Bitcoin was still in single digits when HN made me stumble over it. Many ycombinator applications and projects later I launched a Bitcoin related company and couldn't be happier. The first HN discussion I saw was the one where someone had asked how he could store data and make sure it's still readable 40 years later... the answers where so smart, funny, detailed and out of this world it got me hooked. Thanks HN &a community.

abhishekjha 9y ago
Which story?