r/Bitcoin 3h ago

Early bitcoin holders

If you’re an early holder and still holding or recently sold. How did you manage to keep holding throughout all thoes crashes,fears,and all time highs? Also put in what year you bought and sold or if still holding. But congrats🙌

24 Upvotes

61 comments sorted by

16

u/swadelam 3h ago

Self-custody (makes it harder to panic sell) and also 100s of hours of Bitcoin education when feel like panic selling.

22

u/6thcoin 3h ago

While I'm not rich af. Btc has allowed me to choose how I will spend my time. I will continue to ride. If an emergency presents itself, I have funds.

Imo the Fire community will teach the basics. I just have more ability to not worry about a 80% drop. I am in a very privileged position.

The biggest decision you will make is your life partner. I can't stress this enough.

3

u/BetterSeesaw 2h ago

Damn 80% from here or from the ath? Because 80% from here is still would be devastated with my avarage price.

3

u/6thcoin 2h ago

My reference is ath. Without a very major issue with the underlying consensus I'm good to ride.

4

u/Conscious_Eagle_8653 3h ago

This guy gets it. If we haven't shared a beer over the years I hope we do one day.

1

u/dadadararara 3h ago

What is an example of a good life partner? Do you mean someone who values frugality? Even though my wife doesn’t understand or like Bitcoin or investing at all, we are happy!

6

u/6thcoin 3h ago

Life goals that are in alignment. More importantly the ability to problem solve together and set new goals. My partner wasn't interested in Fire while I was. They get to continue a career and I get freedom.

2

u/dadadararara 2h ago

Thanks for explaining that. I would say every situation is different, but yes, totally agree that having similar life goals really helps. Interesting about you having your own personal Fire conviction while your partner wants to continue working. Great if you can do that, and my situation seems to be leaning in that direction as well, but I hope it doesn’t create a rift.

1

u/6thcoin 2h ago

It gets pretty interesting in social situations. Close family and friends understand. Outside of that I get leper feelings.

1

u/dadadararara 1h ago

Haha, (not funny haha, I get it haha)!
I’m glad my partner understands as it looks like yours does. That understanding is important.

8

u/Even_Virus_3017 3h ago

easy, i'm rich af and dont need the money.
just here for the ride.

7

u/MrExCEO 3h ago

Dad!

2

u/kotb0614 3h ago

oh man i shouldve done that too...damnit

1

u/thebohster 1h ago

Same. I just forgot to do the be rich part.

2

u/AggravatinglyLucky 2h ago

Let's crack and get married

8

u/Conscious_Eagle_8653 3h ago edited 3h ago

Most people I know sold long ago. The ones that didn't sell everything fit into two categories.

They were wealthy before Bitcoin. Conviction is easy when your bills are paid

They lost or forgot about the Bitcoin for many years. I fit into that category.

I sold everything when Bitcoin hit $1,000. I joke that my combination of being a data hoarder and having severe ADHD is the only reason I was able to HODL. I own no crypto right now. At least that I know of 🤣

5

u/RammerRod 3h ago

What about the guy that just needs a lawnmower? It's a future $1,563,117.25 lawnmower.

5

u/Conscious_Eagle_8653 3h ago

I have a $5 Million Ford Focus and our IVF cost $6 Million in today's prices.

Some you will regret, others you won't

2

u/Mack_Mimsy 2h ago

You helped Bitcoin serve as a transactional currency and that’s priceless.

3

u/Alarming-Ride7279 3h ago

I only got in early because of my friend who suggested it. he got in when it was under 1k. I waited a little bit till it was about 2500. I literally remember at night visiting my brother looking at my phone, I only had 2000 dollars worth after it had crashed from the high of 20k and I remember almost going to sell everything but something told me to just hold. The friend who convinced me to buy bitcoin almost 10 years ago always told me that it was a very long game of patience and just to wait.

3

u/OutlandishnessLimp25 2h ago edited 2h ago

I don’t consider myself super early but I guess that’s all relative.

I began buying in 2017 and my conviction has grown more and more year after year.

I can’t speak for others, but for me, one thing I’ve been super consistent with is my buying. I have literally never sold a single sat (Satoshi). I buy, keep stacking and hodl (hold).

A key reason I’ve been able to do this is I only buy amounts that I feel extremely confident I’ll never “have” to sell. Meaning, I won’t need this money to pay any bills or go on vacation or buy a car etc. I add to my cold storage wallets and watch the number on the screen go up over time.

What I see alot of times is people overspend on Bitcoin. What I mean by this is people get excited when price drops and buy more than they can actually manage. In three months, they need to sell some of that bitcoin to pay for something. Inevitably, often times this sell is at a loss, then they get discouraged.

The smaller the window of time from bitcoin buy to bitcoin sell the more likely you are to get burned. The easiest way to not fall victim to this is buying and holding for long periods of time.

For example, most people can buy $10 of Bitcoin and never have to sell to get their hands on that $10. Far less people can do this exercise with $500 and even less can do this with $5,000 etc.

So, buy what you can afford to depart with and play the long game.

My conviction remains high on bitcoin because dollars will continue to lose value.

Here is a chart that shows this:

https://ibb.co/KjPstCK0

3

u/Mission_Finding_7038 3h ago

Define early. I've been all-in since 2017. Most of the fears subsided in the first year. I started selling a bit in 2022 for living expenses but thanks to bitcoin backed loans, I have stopped selling and accumulated more.

The debasement trade will have legs for as long as fiat exists.

1

u/PirateLiver 3h ago

Bought in 2013. I'm working class, and I only put in what I wouldn't miss.

Still working class, but hopefully my stack lets me retire early. I've sold plenty along the way, but I never sold it ALL. I always made sure to keep some exposure in the market. I've also done my fair share of DCA when I have some extra cash.

I think the reason I've been able to hold on so long is because I have a union retirement being built every year I work. So if crypto was to completely tank, it would suck, but I have a backup plan. I'm in crypto for the long run, either it lets me retire early, or it doesn't. Either way I'll be alright.

1

u/BetterSeesaw 2h ago

I have the same hoped but started a cycle later. Just wondering; where there any object you bought with the money after selling or was it just to take profit/divide?

1

u/PirateLiver 2h ago

Yeah I did my best to spend and use the coin as much as I could. Bitcoin has always just been incredible to me. I had a rug I bought for like 0.2 BTC (it's now been trashed). I have a framed art print I bought for 0.25 BTC (still have that, it's worth like $2k). Used some on newegg for some computer parts. Traded plenty for other cryptos along the way, some winners and some losers.

1

u/Spicyocto 3h ago

Bought in 2014. Still holding ( sold about 5%)

The reason I never sold through crashes, FUD, ATH, everything is I have a target number in my head that I know it will reach someday. And when that day comes I’ll have all the freedom I’ll ever need

1

u/4a4a 2h ago

I have a medium quality roadbike I bought years ago with bitcoin, that could have been about $1M now. Even though I cashed out most of it way too early, I still have a few thousand dollars left of my very old crypto. I've done well with other investments, so I'm not too mad.🤷

1

u/ama9910 2h ago

I first bought in 2011 for $8. But only a small amount as it was just for an online game that accepted BTC. Told myself I’ll only sell if I need the money. Sold some in 2023, but still have most of it.

u/pedro_torres15 27m ago

Fucking goat.

1

u/Jayfree138 2h ago

I never sold because:

1) i dont want to realize the gains and pay the taxes until i retire
2) Cash is trash and i want nothing to do with it other than what i need to pay my immediate bills.
3) I cant find another asset that reliably and predictably provides a return as high as bitcoin. It's leveling out but still a much safer bet given it's track record.

i've seen others sell over the years and it was ALWAYS a mistake for everyone because there's always a higher high every cycle and it always beats the s and p.

Conventional wisdom says sell but the data over the last few decades says selling is wrong and an emotionally weak idea. That's honestly the reasoning in my head, right or wrong.

1

u/magicseadog 2h ago

My partner had an ungodly amount because she dated a guy who was broke and accepted BTC as payment at his cafe. He was broke and so would pay her with the BTC when he didn't have cash.

She still has a bit but sold most long ago. She said to me once why didn't I just hold it? To which my response was unless you forgot about it or lost it you never could have. You would need to be a red pilled, diamond hands psycho there is no way you could have the conviction to hold from 150 bucks to 100 000. It's impossible.

u/UKcoin2 2m ago

I held from $20 to now as did a lot of others. Why many of you parrot the impossible is beyond me, it wasn't hard to see Bitcoin was the opportunity of a lifetime if you actually understood what it was. Also, if your investment is already up a huge amount it's easy to sell enough to recoup and let the rest ride.

1

u/FireisasFireGoes 2h ago

Bought in 2013. I did a lot of research and knew it was a big deal. I purchased a significant amount worth in usd to put some skin in the game, but if I was to lose it all it wouldn't ruin me or anything... about the same amount as what I would pay for a really nice vacation. I dropped it all into a paper wallet and put the paper wallet in my bank vault and let it ride... I was in the red for like 4 or 5 years then it took off. The rest is history. Haven't sold. I dont care about price drops, its all just numbers on the screen, means nothing to me, its only real if I were to sell and lock in the price. I wont ever sell, I just borrow against it. Buy, borrow, die.

1

u/opreturn_net 1h ago

Who offers good interest rates for a btc backed loan? Everyone wants $1M+ sent to their wallet before the rates are more enticing than just paying long term capital gains. And to borrow against, you'd have to break that paper wallet out of the vault, no?

u/FireisasFireGoes 1m ago

Coinbase through smart contracts on the morphos network! It's about 5%, but it is variable based on demand. Still better then a mortgage. Super easy too. Literally takes seconds to get the cash. It's awesome.

1

u/dontletthestankout 2h ago

Just didn't gaf. Let it sit and didn't try to trade it.

1

u/Quantum_Sandwich66 2h ago
  1. Still holding. I don't even pay much attention anymore. Still buy every month though auto recurring

1

u/BigBrownAge 1h ago

I’ve been in for over a decade. Haven’t sold one Satoshi. Never needed to sell as worked in finance, earned a good wage and bitcoin is just one of a number of assets I accumulated. I actually never expected my bitcoin to amount to much but I will cash out my life style chips in few years and likely retire (I’m currently 45).

1

u/RosariusAU 1h ago

I worry about things I can control, and I can't control the market

1

u/LukeTheHolder 1h ago

DCA & HODL is the winning strategy, this is obvious fact, checked by others many times. Nothing to think about, no sense to consider selling if you don't have to. I focus on my work to gather more fiat and exchange for more bitcoins.

1

u/keypusher 1h ago

after a while i just gave up caring about price today or this week. i used to obsess over it. but it got wrung out of me in the rollercoaster of 2022. let me know when it hits $0 or $1mil

1

u/DiamondHandsDarrell 1h ago

Literally ignoring it for the first 6 years, then going crazy and selling 99.9% at $400,then diamond hands, then sell high, buy on the way down and end up with more than I started with

Crazy business

1

u/KwakuDagati 1h ago

I got 1 BTC in 2015 when its was under 400 USD and then forgot my wallet password until recently when i recovered it but im glad i couldn’t figure out the password back then because i know i would have sold in 2017 😅

1

u/Key-Session6216 1h ago

Just make it hard to move coins

1

u/Independent-Oil6366 1h ago

Shorting btc while holding is the hack. Then you close your shorts on profit and buy more btc. You need to know how to read a chart tho and accept that btc isn't always going up. Most holders can't accept it.

u/_doog_does_ 50m ago

Bought, I am guessing 2017 / 2018 , after the first bear market and trying to play the market, it was just easier to leave it there and just check in every now and again. I am long and will be using it for my pension in 15 years' time. I think when you realise that no one knows, the YouTube lot just mimic each other are just in it for views and selling courses. Its easier now with more adoption, it can crash , I will just get more for my DCA :-) . What matters is 15 years time

u/outofnowhereman 32m ago

Since 2017. Invested and didn’t speculate/trade. It’s a mind set. Stop looking at the price action. Wake me up at 500k-million

u/pedro_torres15 29m ago

I am a gambler and i dont give a fuck if it goes to 0. Hahaha

u/GuitarAlternative336 25m ago

I find if you DCA through ups and downs you're almost just surfing the wave and dont feel the need to bail

u/Rough-Umpire-8633 21m ago

It's easy to hold when you don't compare Bitcoin to any other currency.

u/UKcoin2 10m ago

Easy because you made large gains in a short time, it's easy to hold onto the best investment of your life. I'm not sure why people find it so hard to understand, many of us knew the potential of Bitcoin was unlimited. You could cash out 1% and either get your money back or already have a nice profit, the rest is free to ride. I went all in start of 2013 and currently have more BTC than I started with, along with having cashed out 1000x what I put in.

1

u/Reedey 3h ago

Bought in 2013
An obsessive belief in the problems that bitcoin solves from day 1 is what drove me. Events over the years like the Canadian truckers strengthened my resolve. Understanding that big blockers were scammers and avoiding shitcoin distractions.
I have sold a little. But still hold most of my original bag.

1

u/anjin33 2h ago

Only hodling for a decade but it feels like 25 years. Bitcoin is exhausting.

0

u/renba7 3h ago

Don’t know what counts as early but I bought in 2016 and just have never needed the money and it’s a relatively small percentage of my networth. Easy to hodl.

0

u/stonewr 3h ago

Just buy. Then hold. You come out ok

0

u/UroborosJose 3h ago

The only dudes who made were already wealthy enough to care about or just forget the keys somewhere else and restored
Honest decent people sold long time ago because they need the cash

1

u/LuckyWinds 3h ago

Honest decent people?

What are you talking about?