The World's Youngest BTC Millionaire: Bought Bitcoin at 12, Assets Over a Million at 18, What Did He Do Right?
In 2017, Erik Finman became a millionaire by purchasing Bitcoin at the age of 18. His first Bitcoin purchase was surprisingly in 2011 when he was just 12 years old. He spent the $1,245 he received from his grandmother to buy 103 BTC, marking the beginning of his investment journey and entrepreneurial life in Bitcoin.
(Previous Summary: A Review of the Billionaires Who Became Rich Through Bitcoin) (Background Supplement: Franklin CEO: I Spend 30% of My Time Every Day Studying Blockchain and AI; It's Absurd That Traditional Finance Ignores Bitcoin) Over the 15 years since Bitcoin's inception, the cryptocurrency field has produced numerous millionaires, multi-millionaires, and even billionaires. Their wealth is unrelated to profession, identity, gender, or age; seizing the opportunity to buy and hold can create a crypto legend that many envy.
The protagonist of this article, Erik Finman, may not have assets comparable to many big names in the cryptocurrency field, but his experience in crypto is quite unique. Buying Bitcoin at 12 Years Old. To talk about Erik Finman's experience in cryptocurrency, we must start from 2011 when the 12-year-old Finman received $1,245 from his grandmother, which he decided to invest entirely in Bitcoin, which was only 2 years old at the time (Bitcoin was established in 2009). At that time, the trading price of Bitcoin was only $12, and Finman, who invested all of it, bought a total of 103 BTC.
Although the rise of Bitcoin brought Finman a lot of wealth at the time, he did not feel happy about it because he was troubled by the daily campus life. Due to his dissatisfaction with the quality of education at his high school, he pleaded with his parents to let him drop out at the age of 15. He stated: The quality of high school education is very low; most of the teachers I encountered were very negative. One teacher even told me to drop out and work at McDonald's because that would be my greatest achievement in life.
I guess I really should drop out of school. Eventually, Finman's parents agreed to his request to drop out, but they also made a bet that if Finman did not become a millionaire by the age of 18, he would have to return to college. Perhaps driven by the million-dollar bet, Finman decided at the end of 2013 to sell all 103 Bitcoins for $1,200 each, converting it into $120,000 in startup capital. Transforming into an Entrepreneur: From Bitcoin to an Online Education Company. With the $120,000 in startup funds obtained from selling Bitcoin, Finman founded an online education company called Botangle in early 2014, aimed at helping students frustrated with the education system find teachers through video chat. He also used this money to move to Silicon Valley, where he engaged in some interesting activities, such as meeting Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and traveling. However, Finman admitted that it was not easy for people to take a 15-year-old tech entrepreneur seriously. He recalls an interview with a 'very, very high-level' Uber executive, who not only did not listen to his Botangle plan but also told him, 'You will never win the bet against your parents.' In the end, Finman found a buyer in January 2015 to purchase Botangle's technology. The investor offered two choices: $100,000 or 300 Bitcoins, at that time the price of Bitcoin had fallen to slightly above $200 each. Finman chose the lower-valued Bitcoin because he believed it was 'the next big trend.' When his parents asked why he didn't choose the higher value of $100,000 in cash, Finman explained: I see it (Bitcoin) as an investment. After completing a phase of his entrepreneurial journey, fast forward to June 2017, Finman was already 18 years old, and his assets included 403 Bitcoins and several altcoins. At that time, the price of Bitcoin was $2,700 each, meaning the total value of his Bitcoin holdings was $1.08 million, just in time to fulfill the million-dollar bet with his parents. Finman happily stated: I can proudly say I succeeded, and I won't be going to college. At the same time, Finman predicted in 2017 that Bitcoin would reach $100,000 within ten years. Looking back now, Finman's vision was indeed sharp.
The cryptocurrency market is filled with uncertainty and challenges, but it also contains potential opportunities. Investors participating in cryptocurrency investments should fully understand the associated risks, remain calm and rational, and respond to market changes with a sound strategy!