How 12-year-old Erik Finman turned a $1,000 Bitcoin (BTC USD) investment in 2011 into $1.09 million by age 18

Erik Finman was only 12 years old, when he invested a $1000 gift from his grandmother in Bitcoin in 2011. By the time he was 18 years he had 403 Bitcoins valued at $1.09 million based on a Bitcoin price of $2700.

His Bitcoin investment also helped him win a bet he had made with his parents that if he turned 18 and was a millionaire, they would not force him to go to college.

Finman said, “I can proudly say I made it, and I’m not going to college,” as quoted by CNBC.

Erik Finman Invested $1000 in Bitcoin at 12 Years

Finman started investing in BTC in May 2011, when he was 12. He used a $1000 gift from his grandmother after receiving a tip about Bitcoin from his brother Scott. At that time, Bitcoin was worth around $12 per coin.

He was also frustrated with his school experience in Idaho and eventually asked his parents if he could leave high school at 15. They agreed.

One teacher had even told him to drop out and work at McDonald’s because that was all he would amount to, according to Finman. He said ″(High school) was pretty low quality,” adding, “I had these teachers that were all kind of negative. One teacher told me to drop out and work at McDonald’s because that was all I would amount to for the rest of my life. I guess I did the dropout part,” as quoted by CNBC.

Erik Finman's Bitcoin Investment Grew to $100000

Finman sold his first Bitcoin investments at the end of 2013, when Bitcoin was valued at $1200 per coin. The investment had grown from the original $1000 to $100000.

He then used the money to launch Botangle, an online education company, in early 2014. The platform was designed to allow students to find teachers through video chat. Finman also used the funds to move to Silicon Valley.

Finman Chose 300 Bitcoin Over $100,000

In January 2015, Finman found a buyer for Botangle’s technology. The investor offered him either $100,000 or 300 bitcoins.

Bitcoin was worth a little more than $200 per coin at the time, meaning the 300-bitcoin option had a lower value than the cash offer.

Finman chose the Bitcoin because he viewed it as an investment and believed it was going to be “the next big thing,” as per the CNBC report.

His parents questioned why he did not take the larger cash amount, but Finman decided to take the Bitcoin instead.

403 Bitcoin Were Worth $1.09 Million

Finman continued managing his own Bitcoin investments as well as his family’s Bitcoin investments.

At the time of the CNBC report, he owned 403 bitcoins. With Bitcoin trading at $2,700 per coin, those holdings were valued at $1.09 million.

He also had smaller investments in other cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin and Ethereum.

Bitcoin was highly volatile, however, and its value could decline rapidly. While one technical analyst cited by CNBC expected Bitcoin to reach $2,800 before falling back, others believed it could reach $100,000 within a decade.

Finman was considerably more optimistic. He said he believed Bitcoin could eventually be worth a couple hundred thousand dollars to $1 million per coin.

Why Erik Finman Did Not Want to Go to College

Reaching millionaire status meant Finman had fulfilled the condition of his agreement with his parents.

He said he did not plan to attend college and also said he had never obtained a GED because he did not see the value in it.

For Finman, running a business had provided a different kind of education. Instead of writing essays for English class, he said he had to write emails to important people.

He also said he preferred learning through the internet, particularly YouTube and Wikipedia, which he described as free sources of education.

Finman Saw Potential Beyond Bitcoin’s Price

Finman also believed the technology behind Bitcoin could have uses beyond the cryptocurrency itself.

He explained that Bitcoin and blockchain technology could allow people to cut out intermediaries. As an example, he described an open-source blockchain ride-share platform in which users could power the service through their phones using peer-to-peer technology without a central hub.

He said such a system could allow drivers to receive more money by reducing overhead costs and could contribute to a new version of the internet that would not rely on servers.