Again Mat, you just keep making me laugh!! Thank you.
3 Years ago I was feeling the pain and frustration with moving money around, all the post 9/11 KYC and AML and the horror of the 2008 collapse. Starting to see and take seriously what was really happening. Saying to myself - like a crazy person's mantra - "there has to be a better way, there has to be a better way.............."
2011 bubble had just crashed and I heard about Bitcoin for the first time. Lighting struck !! Answered all my questions and the white paper blew my mind. Bought $235 worth of btc just to start playing with it. I was amazed, and had that feeling - like " this is it"
Having run into lots of multi-level scams in my life, I immediately looked for real people to talk to and see if this was for real. Went to the first (I believe) conference in NYC (summer 2011), run by this nut job named Bruce Wagner (turned out to be a nut job). Anyway met great people (talked to Gavin - his integrity, and humility is what really sold me on the heart of bitcoin)...and from then on started making small buys on Gox. I told nobody about this - not even my closest friends and family (my brother is still a little pissed I did not tell him about this back then)...
For me the 2013 spring bubble came out of nowhere and rocked my world. I was not prepared for all the growth and did not yet understand the market very well. Freaked me out. I remember sitting in front of my computer the night we were bottoming with my finger on the sell button. I talked myself into selling that night. And I swear as soon as I sold, the market started taking off and cruised all the way up to $100. Sold way too much at the $50 bottom post bubble. worst decisions ever.
On top of that I had major funds get stuck at a defunct exchange - which I actually ended up recovering 100%, by the grace of God and some high integrity heros. I was ultimately able to buy back in to recover much of my position ... "but you don't understand.. I could have been a contender!"
Since then I just dove deeper and deeper, into the tech and economics - and have been amazed at how far we have come so fast. It has been an incredible ride. Aaamazing
Today seeing bitcoin discussed on CNBC and Bloomberg and hearing CEO of serious companies talk as if this is inevitable still blows my mind and makes me shake my head in wonder.
Since early 2013, This forum has educated me, inspired me, pissed me off and guided me throughout this time, and I am deeply grateful it was here and particularly to a few key players on this board who have shared wisdom generously and consistently.