Crypto’s Early Risers: 3 Investors Who Bet Big and Won

Over the years, crypto has slowly become mainstream, with every institution and investor eager to cash in on its promise of massive fortunes. However, that wasn’t always the case.

Some individuals saw the potential in digital assets when most dismissed them as speculative fads. By betting big, sometimes everything they had, these early adopters transformed their lives, turning small investments into millions. Today, their crypto success stories stand as powerful evidence of their early faith in the industry.

Erik Finman

Erik Finman is the world’s youngest Bitcoin (BTC) millionaire. In 2011, at just 12 years old, he made a decision that would change his life. He invested a $1,000 gift from his grandmother, intended for his college education, into Bitcoin. This early investment would go on to make him a millionaire.

Finman first encountered Bitcoin at a protest, where he noticed a man wearing a Bitcoin shirt. Intrigued, he approached the man and asked about the cryptocurrency.

“He’s like a hippie, he’s like, ‘Man, I think it’s gonna end Wall Street, all the corruption, and all the bad things,'” Finman recalled. 

This sparked his curiosity, and he soon began researching Bitcoin and decided to invest. Frustrated with traditional schooling and teachers, he dropped out of high school when he was 15. By the end of 2013, when the price of Bitcoin reached $1,200 per coin, Finman sold $100,000 worth of Bitcoin

With his newfound wealth, Finman launched Botangle in early 2014. Botangle was an online education platform inspired by his disdain for conventional schooling and offering an alternative to it. In 2015, Finman sold Botangle for 300 Bitcoins.

But he didn’t stop there. The young Bitcoin investor made a bet with his parents: if he became a millionaire by the time he turned 18, they wouldn’t force him to attend college.

By 2017, Finman had fulfilled that bet. Bitcoin’s value had surged to around $2,700 per coin, and Finman’s holdings, totaling 403 Bitcoins, made him a millionaire at 18, just as he had promised.

After becoming a Bitcoin millionaire, Finman went on to launch several successful ventures. He founded MetalPay and CoinBits, a crypto investment startup. 

In addition, he created FINFund, a venture capital fund focused on disruptive technologies. Furthermore, Finman established a political action committee, Future PAC.

“By the age of 25: I dropped out of school and moved to SF.  I sold my first startup. I made my first million in Bitcoin. I created a working Dr. Octopus suit. We launched a satellite. We launched a multi-million dollar crypto startup. Gen-Z gets it done,” Finman wrote on X.

Glauber Contessoto

Glauber Contessoto, dubbed the “SlumDoge Millionaire,” epitomizes the high-stakes gamble of meme coin investing. Born in Brazil and raised in poverty after moving to the US, Contessoto worked at a music company and dabbled in stocks before learning about Dogecoin (DOGE) on Reddit. 

Inspired by Elon Musk, Contessoto decided to take a huge risk. He spent all his life savings, sold his stock portfolio, and took out a margin loan on the Robinhood app to invest $250,000 in Dogecoin (DOGE) in February 2021.

His timing was impeccable. Musk’s tweets sent Dogecoin’s price soaring. At one point, Contessoto’s holdings were worth around $3 million. 

“Ok I’m just going to put this out there. I believe I’m the first Dogecoin Millionaire of 2021. It officially happened yesterday April 15th 2021 at 6pm PST,” Contessoto shared in 2021.

However, this fortune did not last long. As DOGE prices fell, so did his wealth.

I used to have $3 Million in #Dogecoin

Now it’s $50,000

What happened?