Erik Finman is a well-known bitcoin investor who increased his bitcoin holdings from 100 (about 1,000 USD in 2011) to 450 (worth 4.5 million USD in 2019). Before the age of 18, he had become one of the youngest bitcoin millionaires in the world, and at the age of 20, he owned his own company.
Dropping Out Early to Get Rich
At the age of 12, Erik Finman (Germany) realized that school was not the path to the future he wanted to pursue. During a walk with his brother, he saw a man wearing a bitcoin-themed shirt and was very curious. He approached to ask and was introduced to cryptocurrency by this person, from that moment he showed interest in various crypto coins. This was when he realized that bitcoin would grow more than it was at that time, and he invested time learning about it.
After that, Finman received 1,000 USD from his grandmother. This money was used by the teenager to buy about 100 bitcoins, at that time priced at around 10 USD/1 bitcoin. He recalls: "I spent time every day trading and hoped to make more money afterward. For 3 years, I only focused on trading bitcoin and going to school."
At the end of 2013, Finman sold the bitcoins he owned when they were priced at 1,200 USD/bitcoin and dropped out of school. Many might have thought like him, but not everyone dares to actually do it. The surprising thing is that Finman's parents agreed to their son's decision. However, they set a special condition for Erik that if he became a millionaire before his 18th birthday, he would not have to go to college.
This teenager really hated school, as he had once been told by a teacher that he should drop out and get a job at McDonald's. Erik once sent a letter to that old teacher to "show him" that he had achieved great things instead of becoming a failure. In fact, in 2014, Finman even started an online education startup named Botangle, allowing students frustrated with the education system like Finman to find teachers via video calls.
The Miraculous Bet Win
Erik Finman admits that it is very difficult for people to take a 15-year-old tech entrepreneur seriously. He recalls an interview with a senior executive at Uber and was very disappointed. Instead of listening to Finman pitch about Botangle, this leader discouraged him by saying that he would never win a bet against his parents.
Of course, the young investor did not let those words make him give up on his dreams. A year later, Finman found a buyer for Botangle, who offered 100,000 USD or 300 bitcoins. At that time, bitcoin was down to around 200 USD/coin, but Finman still chose bitcoin.
Many people might think it was a wrong decision, but this teenager had years of experience investing in cryptocurrencies. He continued to invest, busy with other projects such as collaborating with NASA to launch a rocket through the ELaNa project. Finally, before his 18th birthday, Erik Finman won the bet with his parents by becoming a bitcoin millionaire. At that time, the price of bitcoin exceeded 2,700 USD/coin, and he seized that opportunity to trade. According to Techguide, this young investor made it to the top 5 cryptocurrency millionaires in the world.
It is estimated that at the age of 20, Finman owned bitcoins worth over 5 million USD. This number continued to rise in the following 2 years, showing that he was quite a savvy investor. With about 10 years of experience trading bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Erik believes that bitcoin is the type of money that suits him best. According to him, cryptocurrency is the pioneering money of new technology, and it will continue to exist.
In an interview with Business Insider, Finman once said: "If you don't become a millionaire in the next 10 years, then it's your fault." The bitcoin millionaire believes that opportunities for investment are abundant, the important thing is to know how to analyze and be careful with the types of money you intend to invest in. Currently, Erik is focusing on his own smartphone product, named Freedom Phone. This young entrepreneur claims it is a completely uncensored phone, emphasizing that "freedom of speech and privacy rights are paramount."
