Huge wealth achieved through a small investment is a rarity. Nevertheless, it can happen to anyone. Here is the surprising story of a Norwegian who bought Bitcoin in 2009… and forgot about it.
An unaware BTC millionaire
Kristoffer Koch is a young Norwegian who in 2009 decided to invest a modest 150 Norwegian kroner (the equivalent of $26 at the time) in Bitcoin. It didn’t even cross his mind at the time that this small choice would change his entire life, transforming a modest contribution into sizable wealth.
At the age of 25, while writing his master’s thesis, Koch came across the idea of Bitcoin, a revolutionary digital currency capable of shaking up traditional finance. Initially, despite having studied the cryptocurrency’s white paper, he viewed the future of BTC with quite a bit of reserve. Nevertheless, risking a small sum, he made a purchase of 5,000 Bitcoins. Then, like many others, Koch simply forgot about it, focusing on his career and other aspects of his life.
It wasn’t until four years later, in 2013, media reports of Bitcoin’s soaring value prompted Koch to check his long-neglected digital wallet. With great surprise, he discovered that $22 had turned into a fortune worth some $886,000.
“There are no words to convey how fantastic the experience was,” he said. – Koch confessed in an interview with NKR.
The dilemma – to sell or HODL?
Such a dynamic increase in the value of an asset can stir up not only joy, but also uncertainty about the next steps. Koch was therefore faced with a choice – to sell BTC or, however, to hold on a little longer. Fortunately for himself, he found the right compromise. He decided to cash in a certain portion of the stock, and invest the proceeds in an exclusive apartment in a prestigious Oslo neighborhood. The rest, on the other hand, he decided to keep untouched in his wallet.
“Every morning I would log into the portfolio and watch the capital grow,” he said. – recalled the young engineer, referring to hodl’owing BTC.
There are many more unconventional cases, and they involve more than just Bitcoin
Although Koch emphasizes the potential of hodl’ing digital assets, he is not a unique case. Others, like him, have underestimated the impact of blockchain technology and the incomprehensible opportunities that come with it, selling too early or failing to invest in BTC when the price was incredibly low.
Some time ago, we wrote about similar investment returns using the example of Shiba Inu (SHIB). Read if you haven’t already done so: “An investment of just $1,000 in Shiba Inu turns into $19 million in October 2022.”
Extremely unfortunate decisions are also widely known. It is worth recalling that a few months after Koch bought Bitcoin, on May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz spent 10,000 Bitcoin on two Papa John’s pizzas, not realizing that in a few years they would be worth a fortune.
Although Hanyecz did not foresee the spectacular rise in Bitcoin’s value, this transaction became a watershed moment in the cryptocurrency’s history. This is because it was the first use of Bitcoin as a means of payment in a commercial transaction.
