The bitcoin Path (Part 1)

The Overview Every self proclaimed Bitcoiner has a journey that they are all still on to this day. After 15 months being committed to this project I am finally laying out my story in full detail in a three part series. * Part 1 - How it Started * Part 2 - A Test of Faith * Part 3 - Getting Orange Pilled Buckle up, it’s a wild ride. The Decade-Old Discovery (~$100 USD/BTC) The first time I recall hearing about Bitcoin was around 2011 - 2013. Honestly the specific year slips me. What I distinctly recall is the first time I heard of it. It was the summer months, between semesters in university, where I bumped into someone I knew at the climbing gym who told me about Bitcoin. For purposes of privacy I won’t name this directly so let’s give him the clever name of Art Vandelay. Art is one of the smartest people I have ever met. At the time Art was starting his Master’s of Engineering. Our university had built a brand new engineering building full of new computer labs, with no students to actively use them as classes were not in session until the fall term. Art, being the savvy engineering student he was decided this was an appropriate time test the new computer labs; and what better way to do so than to start mining bitcoin using the university’s newly purchased computers. Mining for those unfamiliar is the process of using computing power to validate the Bitcoin network. As miners validate the Bitcoin network’s transactions, they are awarded bitcoin for their efforts. Back then the Bitcoin network was small enough that a basic laptop was sufficient to mine bitcoin; today you need a specialized $10,000 piece of equipment called an ASIC just to have a marginal chance. Art decided to run his own Bitcoin mining operation using the university’s new computer labs by installing the Bitcoin Core onto the computers and directed any reward payouts to his own personal bitcoin wallet. Genius when you think about it, he got the university to pay for the hardware and electricity. At the time of the tale he amassed around 2,000 bitcoin to his name; each of which were worth ~$100 USD at the time. Today this would be worth 88 million USD (~$44,000 USD per bitcoin). This story was the first time I had ever heard of Bitcoin. That was ten years ago. I was too naïve at the time to ask Art to explain Bitcoin to me. Hindsight is 20/20. … Life probably would have been different had I been more curious (I said cautious over audio, I meant curious). … That’s spilt milk under the bridge. … … … Well then. Moving on. The Summer of Skepticism (~$10,000 USD / BTC) So let’s fast forward a decade. It’s 2020, and basically most of the world is starting to look like a dumpster fire, aboard a s**t-show that is spiraling into a complete and total train wreck. Get your pop-corn ready. So my Mom, is a tenured emergency nurse during all of this, decides to take a break and leave nursing. As a project focused woman she starts looking into learning more about finance at a macro (big picture) level; a topic she has always expressed curiousity and interest in. Some of my earliest memories are of her taking me to the bank when I was a kid to deposit my allowance. Well summer rolls around and she calls me up telling me to look at bitcoin. I am skeptical. As an articling accounting student at the time, I am thinking this is “ridiculous” and a “scam.” I genuinely thought that any exposure to bitcoin was reckless and irresponsible. I was a a die hard by-product of my “professional” schooling, disregarding anything that could be new or potentially disruptive. It was only after wearing me down did I finally agree to discuss Bitcoin with her. I kept an open mind; though my bias was still negative. I was hesitant. Then like any good mother does, I got a push. The Autumn of Adoption (~$20,000 USD / BTC) Fast forward to the end of October 2020. My Mom sends me $1,000 CAD dollars. She gives me one clear instruction, “take this money and get off zero.” So I purchase my first bitcoin through an app called ShakePay based out of Montreal. [Not a sponsor, I just love their app; I left a referral code if you’re interested in the hyperlink]. It’s important here to note that bitcoin while it priced in full units, it can be purchased in sub units. These sub units are called Satoshi’s (or Sats) in honour of the pseudonymous founder Satoshi Nakamoto. Each bitcoin is able to sub divided into 100,000,000 Sats. Once you put skin in the game, you can’t help but feed curiousity. I started going down the rabbit hole, peeling back the veil. I kept going further and further down listening to finance experts, engineers, podcasters, corporate influences, market reports, and early bitcoin adopters who have been around since inception giving their take on where Bitcoin was going to take the world. Around about my birthday in December of 2020, I was absolutely convinced. I’m fortunate to have a technical background in automation technology and am a professional accountant; this allowed me to assess Bitcoin from multiple vantage points. After enough research and drawing my own conclusions I am near certain that the open source and permission-less nature of Bitcoin will change our understanding of money and global finance in a comparable manner that the Internet successfully did to communication and commerce. The advent of Bitcoin is an epochal level game changer of human history. It was at this point, I went what some call irresponsibly long on bitcoin. My Closing Thoughts Legacy finance’s days are numbered. These institutions will need to learn to adapt and adopt or risk be relegated to the dust bin of history. This statement goes for individuals as well. While such adoption will (likely) not happen over night; I sense that around the year 2030, there will be a scramble for the door as the supply of bitcoin left for purchase becomes sufficiently scarce and difficult to acquire. While the above is a story, this next sentence is not financial advice; but rather life advice. Get off zero. This means acquire some bitcoin, even just a dollar. I am absolutely certain that in the near future you will waste a dollar. Put that to good use and buy something, your willingness to have your mind changed. The decision to buy was a game changer for me. One of the most important decisions of my life. I’ll elaborate more in parts 2 and 3. Until next time, HODL on. Disclaimer. I am an accountant. I am not your accountant. Do your own research. Don’t risk more than you’re willing to lose. The contents of this author is not financial advice. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bitsandsats.substack.com