People who invest in Bitcoin every day 6
The recent Bitcoin fever has pushed the price of this virtual currency past the $10,000 mark for the first time in history.
Bitcoin is just one of many digital currencies in the world.
However, it has also helped many people become rich.
People get involved in the Bitcoin world for many reasons.
As with other assets, Bitcoin’s price is partly determined by investor activity.
`Ethereum made it possible for me to buy a house`
Aurelio Arias (29 years old) is a pharmaceutical consultant.
Arias got interested in Bitcoin first, back in 2012, because of his interest in blockchain technology.
After that, he started mining Bitcoin out of curiosity.
Then, Arias learned about Ethereum.
Arias bought 10 Ether (a unit of this virtual currency) early last year, when the price of one Ether was only 3 – 4 USD.
`I felt quite comfortable with the capital I invested. I still kept it, regardless of market fluctuations. And when I reached break-even point, I told myself that I would continue to keep it,` he said.
The Arias couple plans to buy a house next year, thanks to their savings and profits from Ethereum.
`I told myself I wouldn’t cry if I lost everything. You won’t make a profit if you don’t sell. My wife and I sometimes urge you to sell,` he said.
`I use profits from Bitcoin for business`
Alessandra Sollberger (29 years old) invested in Bitcoin since 2012, when the price was only 9 USD.
Because her work involves both technology and new businesses, she learned about Bitcoin earlier than many people.
She bought 400 Bitcoins for less than 9 USD per coin in 2012, then sold 250 coins in early 2015, earning a total of 20,000 USD.
Sollberger used this money to open a nutrition company, called Evermore.
Compared to own business, Sollberger said that virtual currency `may be safer`, but both `come from the same motive`.
`I quit my job at IBM and focused entirely on virtual currency`
Ian Balina (28 years old) quit his job at IBM last year, thanks to earning quite a bit from buying and selling virtual currency.
`I joined last year, when a University friend dragged me to meet the blockchain leader at IBM. When he told me about the profit, I realized that it was higher than the stock. So I
To date, he has poured $90,000 into virtual currency.
`At first, I just tried it. Then, I found books to read and attended seminars. In the end, I spent more time on it than my main job. 2 months ago, I decided to quit my job.
Now he focuses on finding ICOs (issuing virtual currency to raise capital) worth investing in.
`When I first started, only about one in eight ICOs I invested in was profitable. But now, thanks to data and analytics from my time at IBM, the rate is one in four,` he said.
Of course, besides virtual money, he has many other sources of income.
Balina said that in the conferences he attended, there were not many people who were truly passionate about blockchain technology and saw its potential.
