Bitcoin, a very simple example

This is a short post to demonstrate one cool aspect of bitcoin: appreciation.

We have a friendly bitcoin community in Sydney. It’s the “oldest” in the country, with the BitcoinSYD meetup being the first bitcoin meetup in Australia, started by Jason Williams and Max Kaye, back in 2013.

We do social things together, like beach days, roadtrips, BBQs and karaoke, to name a few. We also have an occasional poker night.

I learned to play poker at these friendly poker games, where it’s more about talking crypto and friendly banter, than the actual game. It’s a $25 buy in, with limited re-buys and around 6 players each night.

I have played about 8 games and my rule of thumb is to never re-buy. I can deal with loosing $25 bucks here and there. I have come second place a couple of times, which means I won some money back

Here are the transactions, note the amount in AUD and the dates:

I don’t use this wallet for anything rather than collecting poker winnings.

Here’s the current balance:

Yes, that’s right. In the last 12 months, the original amount has appreciated 16+ times and the total amount nearly 10 times.

How much would I have earned if I deposited the same amount at a savings account? I’m too lazy to do the maths properly, so my best guess is about $3 or approximately 2.5%, whilst the banks would’ve lent my $130 odd bucks probably 5x, charging a minimum of 10% interest every time, making $60 juicy buckaroos.

There’s no way in hell I’m leaving my money in a bank.

Exciting times we live in indeed.

It is, however, important to note that soaring prices attract the all kinds of individuals, including those wanting to make a quick buck at the expense of the inexperienced user(s).

My rule of thumb advice is (for crypto and life in general): if it’s too good to be true, 99.9% of the time it is.

So, be careful.

If you like, share your bitcoin story below.

To the moon! 🚀