Influencer and poker player Dan Bilzerian has described how he made millions of dollars thanks to cryptocurrency after taking some wise advice from a friend.
There are a few different ways people get involved in cryptocurrency. Most do it very intentionally after doing research into stocks and prices, while others hear about people making millions and just decide to throw their hat into the ring, hoping for the best.
Bilzerian was neither of these, and actually got involved in the currency rather begrudgingly after winning 'millions of dollars' in poker games. The person who owed him the cash claimed bitcoin would be the best way to give it to him, but Bilzerian wasn't happy about the offer because it would mean he had to pay a five percent transaction fee - the equivalent of $50,000 (£40,300) for $1 million (£807,000)
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Recalling the events in a podcast with Jackass star Steve-O, Bilzerian said: "Ahh, that’s f*cking bullsh*t. I don’t want to pay five percent..."
Being left with few simple options to get his money, the influencer eventually decided to hand over the transaction fee and be paid in bitcoin, which he put on a laptop and promptly forgot about, as it was only worth about $300 (£240)/coin at the time.
It wasn't until a few years later that Bilzerian remembered his ownership of the crypto, when a friend was telling him how it was 'going off'.
Unfortunately, so much time had passed that the poker player had completely forgotten his computer password, but he eventually did mange to get back in and realised he was sitting on a fortune.
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Rather than selling straightaway he decided to buy some Ethereum and other crypto assets, riding the 'wave' and making 'a lot of money' as he was 'able to call such good times to cash out'.
As he continued with his moneymaking, Bilzerian got an offer from a friend to buy some more bitcoin, to which he responded: "Bro, I got so much f*cking Bitcoin. I don’t need any more."
He told the friend to 'hold on to it', but that's when he received the advice that would make him even more wealthy.
The friend said: "If you’re not a buyer at $17,700 (£14,400) you should be a seller.”
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Bilzerian thought about the advice and realised that 'if you don’t want to buy at a certain price then you should probably be selling, if you think it’s more likely that it’s going to go down than up'.
He sold when the price went to $16,500 (£13,000), getting rid of 'almost all' of the crypto. Thanks to his friend's advice, he was able to utilise crypto as even more of a money-maker, later buying back into the currency and riding it back up until he sold again 'at like $58k (£46.8k)'.
The world of crypto is a volatile one, but Bilzerian's grip on it changed thanks to his friend's advice. So, 'if you’re not a buyer at this price then you should be selling'. Do with it what you will.
Topics: Cryptocurrency, Money
Emily Brown