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My Cryptocurrency Journey- Reflections
I wanted to chronicle my own personal cryptocurrency journey, as it spans almost a decade now. I have seen more than one Bitcoin cycle in which the block rewards are halved and the public embraces the asset and then rejects it. My story is one of discovery and I have embraced the weird and wild world of cryptocurrency and DeFi that has been both memorable and profitable.
I began my journey in the world of cryptocurrency in 2015. I had discovered Bitcoin on Coinbase before it became a publically-traded company. I had been trading stocks and buying gold and silver coins, and heard about Bitcoin on the news. At that time, the asset was described as dangerous and the payment method of criminals, but at the same time it was called “digital gold”. As someone who enjoyed buying precious metals, I was eager to purchase some “digital gold” to spread my money around. Bitcoin traded around $250, and I needed advice on purchasing the asset from a coworker. I was hesitant to purchase Bitcoin because it was so volatile and many investment friends had been burned by Bitcoin. Fear kept me from a great opportunity, and I wish I had purchased BTC at $250 back then.
I was hooked in the Summer of 2016. I began by registering an account Coinbase and purchased a portfolio of cryptocurrency assets. At the time, the only assets offered were Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum. I used a credit card to purchase my cryptocurrency, but this option was not available to me the next year due to banking regulations. Using debt to buy cryptocurrency bankrupted more than a few people, and I hesitate to use high-interest credit cards in general. After this, I discovered more cryptocurrency exchanges and registered for both Binance and Bittrex to trade. I loved trading XRP, NEO and the slew of other esoteric cryptocurrencies. At the time, cryptocurrency was seen as being very exotic and was linked in the public mind with criminal enterprises. Underground markets used Bitcoin, and the media was hungry to pin the activity on this misunderstood asset.
Cryptocurrency was being embraced by the masses in 2016. Bitcoin had risen from $1,800 in July of 2016 to almost $20,000 in the Winter of 2016. In a short 6-months, the asset had dominated the news, and more and more friends, co-workers and colleagues were buzzing about Bitcoin. Lending platforms including Bitconnect and exchanges like Binance and Bittrex were multiplying people’s earnings. I remember the Bitcoin Cash fork in the Winter of 2016, and I was hooked. Many cryptocurrencies began to pay staking dividends and lending platforms paid interest. Platforms including Davor and Bitconnect were advertised on YouTube by content creators. I remember Ethereum rising to $1,000 and Litecoin hitting above $350 as Bitcoin blew past $15,000. This was an amazing time, and it appeared that cryptocurrency could change the world and how we paid for things, how we invested and what was possible for decentralized computer systems.
I remember attending a New Year’s Eve party with my wife and showing her my cryptocurrencies and income from my cloud mining contracts. This was right before the infamous crypto-winter when the cryptocurrency marketcap fell from $800 billion to almost $300 billion. Of course, we were all in and believed this run would last. This was before I knew about the seasonality of Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market…
The markets began to crash in January of 2017. Naturally, I bought the dip and it dipped again, and again, and again. The losses were shocking for many, and Bitcoin’s price collapsed to a low of around $2,000. There was a resurgence (or a dead-cat bounce) in March of 2017, when I sold my assets that bounced including EOS, Ethereum, Dragon Chain and others. Steemit was popular at the time, and I regularly traded STEEM on Binance. A coworker noticed me trading on Binance and asked about it. He dismissed the cryptocurrency market in favor of stocks, but I made the case that this was the time to buy when the market was dead. It would stay dead for over 2-years, but my interest never waned.
I started engaging with DeFi platforms in the Summer of 2019. The space was amazing to me, with platforms including Aave, Cure Compound and many more through my Metamask and Web 3.0 wallets. DeFi was invigorating, and platforms emerged on EOS, TRON and STEEM that could multiply money. I enjoyed trying these platforms and watching the governance tokens grow in value as money flowed in.
The cryptocurrency bull market of 2019 during the pandemic followed the low interest rates, money printing and stock market bull. Mania arose in 2021 with Shiba Inu and Bitcoin blasting to $64,000. Everyone was into cryptocurrency at this point to make money, and the news was filled with cryptocurrency speculation.
Cryptocurrency holds so much promise. From trading assets to DeFi, NFTs and much more. My fascination in 2015 led me down a path of discovery and profit. I was so glad to have discovered Coinbase and wish I had been involved in the market sooner, but such is life. We are all early adopters at this point, and the future looks amazing for us.