Student forgot he invested $27 in Bitcoin for school project and returned to stunning fortune years later
It's that old Back to the Future conundrum, isn't it? If you had a time machine, what would you go back and do?
Play the winning lottery numbers, bet on a winning sports team, invest in the likes of Apple, or all of the above?
One student was shocked to learn that a mere $27 investment in Bitcoin would come good in a major way.
While there are still skeptics about the cryptocurrency industry, President Donald Trump has tried to push the USA toward a crypto future, even launching his own memecoin (with mixed success).
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There are plenty of Bitcoin billionaires out there, and while this student didn’t make millions off the back of his original cryptocurrency punt, his tiny investment has turned into an enviable amount of money.
As reported by The Guardian, a Norwegian-based student was shocked to learn that his $27 investment had matured into an impressive $886,000.
Charting the meteoric rise of Bitcoin, Kristoffer Koch invested 150 kroner (the equivalent of $26.60) in 2009.
He discovered the cryptocurrency while writing a thesis on encryption in 2009, but forgot about his investment until there was widespread media coverage on Bitcoin in April 2013.
In just four years, Koch had managed to amass the impressive $886,000, then promptly bought a flat in Oslo with his new fortune. More impressively, Koch had forgotten the password to his encrypted wallet, but after remembering it, was surprised by how much he now had.
Speaking to NRK, the happy student explained: "It said I had 5,000 bitcoins in there. Measuring that in today’s rates it’s about NOK5m ($886,000)."
In April 2013, Bitcoin climbed to $266 before it plummeted to just $50. The seizure of the Silk Road marketplace saw another sharp decline before bitcoin had a massive jump of $30 in a single day.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is worth $80,003, meaning Koch's $27 would now be worth millions. He only withdrew one-fifth of his Bitcoin in 2013, so we assume the rest is still tucked away somewhere. We understand why he pulled the money out in 2013, because let's be honest, nearly $900,000 is quite a tidy profit.
Over on Reddit, people were shocked to hear his story, and equally, wished they'd put into Bitcoin all those years ago.
One person mused: "5000 BTC Holy Moly for 27 Dollar It’s now a half billion this is mindblowing."
Another added: "Reading about this guy is what led me to buying bitcoin in 2014 so I am very grateful to him for sharing his story."
Someone else summed up, saying: "Buying an apartment in Oslo in 2013 was probably not a bad investment either. Even if BTC far outperformed it."
There are still plenty of people who invest in Bitcoin nowadays, but as prices climb, stories like Koch's become increasingly rare.