Meet the Teenage Dropout Who Became a Bitcoin Millionaire

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Meet the Teenage Dropout Who Became a Bitcoin Millionaire

Before he made it big, a teacher told him he wouldn't amount to anything.

Friday, January 5, 2018

Erik Finman sits in his Tesla.

Jeff Francis

Jeff Francis

Economics Bitcoin Cryptocurrency cryptoeconomy Cryptoassets

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Most of the time when a person decides to head down the path less traveled, it usually ends in disaster. Yet there are times when a person perseveres and then prospers. Such is the case of Erik Finman, the teenage Bitcoin millionaire. He’s only 19, but he’s parlayed his initial Bitcoin investment into millions of dollars. Now he plans on building the “world’s best university” in the city of Dubai.

The tale of the teenage Bitcoin millionaire is fascinating.

Grandma's Gift Leads to Millions

The tale of the teenage Bitcoin millionaire is fascinating. Back when he was 12 (in 2011), his grandmother gave him a gift of $1,000. His brother Scott gave him a tip about getting into Bitcoin. Back then, a single Bitcoin was only worth $12, so he bought as much as he could and then decided to hold them.

However, the story gets a lot more interesting. Erik Finman had a terrible time going through the school system. He was bored and unmotivated. He says one teacher even told him that he would never amount to anything, so he should just drop out of school and start flipping burgers at McDonald's.

Finman’s parents decided to pull him out of school, which is what he wanted, and began homeschooling him. In 2013, he cashed out some of his bitcoins to start an online education company called Botangle. This venture was designed for frustrated students like himself to find good teachers over video chat. He then began to intern at Silicon Valley start-ups and moved to San Francisco at age 15.

A Family Affair