May 2011: I bought my first Bitcoins
I discovered Bitcoins in May 2011. I learned about it probably from Slashdot.
As soon as I discovered Bitcoin, I was sure that it would be a major event. I read the white paper several time and decided that I could buy some with money that I could afford to lose.
At this time, it was difficult to buy Bitcoins. I no longer remember what I had to do. I moved US$1,500 and bought 2,000 Bitcoins at $7 a piece on May 18th 2011.
I told my wife about it: we will get rich with Bitcoins. She did not believe me and she told me that I would lose all my money. However, she added, if you make money with it, you will take me on a cruise!
Three weeks later, I was visiting my colleagues at AdaCore in Paris and I told them about my Bitcoin purchase. They had the same reaction as my wife: Vincent, you will lose all your money.
I did not want to look stupid if Bitcoin went down to zero. So, on June 9th, as the price of Bitcoin was up to US$30, I sold 50. This way, I got back my money. I now had 150 Bitcoins that had not cost me a dime!
The Mt. Gox exchange
My 150 Bitcoins were on the crypto exchange Mt. Gox.
Mt. Gox started as a company. in 2006, to trade cards from the online game Magic: The Gathering Online. The original meaning of Mt. Gox was "Magic: The Gathering Online eXchange".
In July 2010, it became a crypto exchange for Bitcoins.
I was naive at this time, and I did not realize that my Bitcoins were not safe on Mt. Gox.
With some of my Bitcoins, I tried various schemes that did not go anywhere.
In November 2013, as the price of Bitcoin skyrocketed, I sold 10 Bitcoins for CAD$10,000 and I told my wife that I was ready for a cruise. More than 10 years later, we have not gone to one: we are too busy with our families.
February 2014: The Mt. Gox Disaster
At the beginning of 2014, I still had 104 Bitcoins on Mt. Gox. They were worth at this time between $80K to $100K.
Then, in February 2014, Mt.Gox went bankrupt: it was badly managed and had been hacked for several years.
So, I could not get back my 104 Bitcoins. I no longer had any crypto assets.
I thought that my involvement with cryptos was over, but I was wrong.
Continue to Part 2.
-- Vincent Celier
