money

Erik Finman

I’m sure there are a lot of you wondering if you should have invested in Bitcoin.  On one hand, it appears like a great investment.  But on the other hand, the idea of cryptocurrency is still kind of shaky, so it might not be the place to stick your money.  That said, you are free to choose whatever investments that you feel are best for you.  Which is what Erik Finman has done.  Finman is a 19-year-old from Germany, and he is now rich because of his investment in Bitcoin. What is interesting about Finman is that he is rubbing that in our noses.  Is that necessary?  I’m still not sold on this from a long-term perspective.

Bitcoin

I shouldn’t say that he’s rubbing his wealth in our noses.  But he is a bit harsh in his assessment that if you’re not a millionaire in the next 10 years, then that’s your own fault.  I stand by my statement of being leery of cryptocurrency, but I tend to be a fairly conservative person from that perspective. I wonder, though, if Finman’s statement is fair?  To take a step back for a moment – Finman’s grandmother gave him $1,245 to invest.  He took that money and invested it in Bitcoin.  Was this a smart move, or just luck? In an interview with Business Insider, he gave an interesting response when asked if the average person could replicate his success.  Here’s part of that interview:

Business Insider: Technology also has its limits, and cryptocurrency today has a completely different status than a few years ago. Do you think you would be just as easy to win that bet today with your parents?

Finman: If you are smart about cryptocurrency over the next 10 years, many people can build their fortunes even better than before. The area is still relatively small; the market capitalization is just over half a trillion dollars. I do not want to be misunderstood: This is, of course, a very high amount, but in comparison to other asset classes, it’s small. Therefore, I say if you do not become a millionaire in the next 10 years, then it’s your own fault. New business models and innovations are still emerging in this area, and therefore, there are many investment opportunities. It’s a new kind of gold fever or a new kind of Silicon Valley — there are really plenty of opportunities.

cryptocurrency

He doesn’t really answer the question.  Which means, his success is partially based in luck.  All he’s saying is that you have to put a bunch of your money into cryptocurrencies, and if you don’t, you’re dumb. But is that a fair assessment? Finman kind of suggests that it’s all really easy.  Just dump your money into something, and boom – you’re a millionaire.  Obviously, it’s not that easy.  I think the part that irks me the most is the fact that Finman is telling people they’re “suckers” if they don’t become rich.  That’s kind of condescending, don’t you think?  Remember, Finman’s grandmother gave him this money.  If my grandmother decided to front me $1,000, I might just put it into some kind of investment.  But that’s not everyone’s reality, and not something that Finman seems to truly understand.