Hi! This is my first Steemit story, yey!!!
I started my journey in cryptocurrency in 2010 when I first read about bitcoin. I was so fascinated by it even though I didn't understand the technical parts of it. I am not mathematically inclined although I love technology. At that time Bitcoin was only around 33 cents apiece. I was ready to buy, however I could only buy them through Linden Dollars, a form of currency from the game Second Life. I didn't know how to get Linden Dollars back then, so I put it off and forgot about it. Life happened and I forgot about Bitcoin and did not even check what went on with it.
Fast forward to 2015 when I picked up interest in cryptocurrency again, to my surprise Bitcoin went through several price cycles already from $0.33 to $1000 and back to $200 by the time I read about it. At that time I also read about Ethereum and I knew it was going to big when Microsoft became interested in it. I am an ordinary person but I had good instincts and I knew somehow that Ethereum was gonna go big. So I bought some Bitcoin and Ethereum back then when Ether was only $1.
Ether rose up from $1 to almost $20 in a couple of months from Autumn 2015 to Summer 2016, and I got obsessed with cryptocurrency. I researched day and night and couldn't stop thinking about it. I looked for promising technologies, then I found about BitShares and its founders Stan and Dan Larimer, a father and son team who produced an amazing technology that can potentially change the world and free people from the slavery of debt and inflation. I got hooked and bought BitShares right away.
Then I had to sell off most of my Ethers when it crashed late summer of 2016 due to a theft that happened in one of the assets that used it. It's a long story, so just check out "The DAO". I lost faith in Ethereum at that time because I saw that their vision of programmable money that's so hard to change even when there's bugs in it. I just can't agree with their vision anymore because in my mind, a virtual computer that can't be changed is a dangerous thing. I believe in adaptability and flexibility, you need to adapt and be flexible with the time. That's why software goes through a lot of revisions because (aside from bugs) you have to adapt with the changes that times and situations require. Anyway, that is my opinion, and I sold my ethers at $10. I missed the whole rise up to $225 (as of today's date) but I still stand by my decision.
At that time, I also quit my job and looked for another way to make money. I reinvested my profits to trading Futures. However, it did not pan out and I lost a lot of money.
Luckily Bitshares didn't appreciate in value that much so I didn't sell it off when I needed the money. I still believed in its vision and founders. And now I'm back into cryptocurrency and I think I'm in the right track with the kind of cryptocurrency and platform I'm supporting. I love what's going on with Bitshares and all the things that are developing with the platform right now.
So that's it, this is my journey in cryptocurrency. It was full of trial and errors, successes and failures, but I learned a lot and I'm so happy that an ordinary person/employee like me can have a shot at financial freedom because of it.
I apologize if this seems hurried, because I had to leave in 5 minutes. Anyway, this is my first story, so please pardon me :)