I've always been interested in computers and technology. I've talked about this before, but this year my involvement with cryptocurrency has gone from observing curiously to going hands on.
To summarize my struggles shared in my previous "log along the crypto-road": despite verifying a bank account on a reputable centralized exchange as well as a great decentralized exchange, the actual transferring of FIAT USD into those exchanges was not easy. Once I got the technicalities figured out I realized my bank's wire transfer fees were outrageous. The price my bank would charge just to move some USD to an exchange was pretty cost prohibitive. So I decided the easiest way would be to use Coinbase and purchase BTC via credit card. In comparison to my bank's wire transfer fees, Coinbase's credit card fee was nominal.
I made the choice to buy my first BTC just before the China scare.
It didn't matter what the price was, I was buying into BTC because I believe in the future of the technology. I was ready to be personally involved. But hey, I won't lie, I was excited to get in as the price dropped. I never doubted the dip was temporary and saw it as a fortunate opportunity for me. However, I was having a HECK of a time trading in FIAT for crypto. I felt like Harry Potter in a match of Quidditch, but instead of chasing a small ball with wings I was chasing Bitcoin.
You already know I abandoned trying to transfer funds to an exchange. Then, my first attempts at Coinbase failed because my bank thought the transactions were suspicious. I had to contact them, say it was me, and request they don't decline future transactions on Coinbase.
When I first started attempting to buy BTC, it was around $3,000 USD. When I successfully purchased my first BTC today I paid an exchange rate of $4,837. I'd be lying if I said it didn't matter; I'm disappointed I wasn't able to take advantage of the quick dip. But, in the big scheme of things, it doesn't matter.
I bought BTC to HODL. I bought BTC because I believe in blockchains. This is a better system, and it's the way of a future I want to be a part of. I'm planning to keep what I bought today as BTC, then diversifying my next purchase into blockchains I believe in like STEEM and BTS.
For all the zipping around, duck, weave, dive, and leaping... it felt like more effort than I expected it should have been. But now that I've caught my first BTC "snitch" I feel much better and have learned a lot.
How about you? I'd love to hear your first Bitcoin story! For some of you it was years ago, or maybe just a couple months ago. Are you still waiting to buy into crypto? Even if you follow me for fiction writing or other things not crypto related, please leave a comment and share your story.