Bitcoin’s 10th anniversary was met with considerable fanfare inside of the cryptocurrency community as people celebrated and reflected on how much the financial landscape has been changed by it.
Very few people a decade ago could have guessed what bitcoin would one day turn into. The first transactions were between people who were just curious about testing out the technology.
However, in the early years after Satoshi Nakamoto submitted “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” to a mailing list, there were some people who saw a vision for the cryptocurrency and decided to invest early.
Optimism Remains Despite Tough Markets
Reuters recently picked up on the story of one early bitcoin buyer, Marshall Hayner, who gifted his grandfather a single coin when it was hovering around $30.
On the paper wallet, Hayner wrote instructions to “do not open until $100,000.”
Even though bitcoin’s value is a far cry from the $100,000 mark, hovering in the mid-$6000s right now, Hayner still believes it is “the next digital gold.” He noted how he started mining the cryptocurrency back in 2009.
Another early buyer, Daniel Peled, has been investing since late 2013 and remains optimistic a new record price peak will occur in a few years.
Some Have Become Dissapointed With Bitcoin
Despite many tales of early investors who are sitting on big piles of money, others who bought in years ago are concerned about bitcoin’s many perceived flaws that still remain today.
Vaughn Blake started to buy bitcoin about five years ago when it was roughly $120. He sold all of his cryptocurrency back in January and lamented about the hacks and phishing attemps he has wandered through.
Others have expressed concerns bitcoin is still not an “efficient means of processing payments.” Funfair Technologies CEO Jez San sold most of his bitcoin before December 2017 after buying in 2013.
According to San, bitcoin is “so user unfriendly that the man in the street just can’t use it.” After his bitcoin selloff, San decided to invest in Ethereum instead.
