Bitcoin changed my life, but in a different way

A couple of days ago, someone posted we needed more positivity in the sub, so I figured I'd shared my story. This is going to be kinda long, so I'll include a TL;DR at the end.

I'm from Argentina, a rather poor country in South America. We've been having over 40% yearly inflation for four or five years now, and although it's not as bad as Venezuela for example, it's still pretty bad.

No one with a moderate education in Argentina trusts in the government or any other institutions for that matter. We know they are corrupt as hell, that they take our money (Argentina has the highest taxes in the region, and one of the highest in the world) to finance their lifestyle and that there's nothing we can do. What is more, they are completely inept. I mean, every politician steals, but some of them still do their jobs. They still win elections, though, as they give away free money through assistance plans. In a country with over 50% poverty, 70% child poverty, and where most people are uneducated, that wins a ton of votes.

Over the last year, Argentina has seen their politicians:

• Distribute drugs on public ambulances (in a partnership with a local drug lord, of course).
• Have sex during a virtually-held congress debate.
• Our president has criticized Sweden's approach to the pandemic to save his ass from his shitty decision making regarding coronavirus. Argentina has been declared the worst country to handle the pandemic, while Sweden was one of the best worldwide.
• During the lockdown period, some people had to see their kids and parents die because they wouldn't let them travel to the hospital for covid-restrictions (which are supposed to protect health). Meanwhile, the president was privately receiving visits from the country's top models and hosting exclusive parties in the presidential residence.

These are only —a few— examples, but you get the idea. Argentina is a joke, and many citizens —myself included— believe it's a failed country. That there's no turning back.

I discovered bitcoin at the very start of the pandemic, Q1 2020. The government in Argentina doesn't let people buy foreign currency, so we're stuck with the worthless peso. But crypto is free to acquire, so I'd said what the hell. I bought in at $9k. The timing couldn't be better.

I educated myself, learned about HODL, about the fundamentals. I remember thinking that Satoshi must have lived in Argentina because it solves literally every problem we have. Inflation, corruption, transparency, negligence. Everything.

I automatically fell in love with the concept of Bitcoin and the crypto industry. I kept buying every time I could (I never traded., Don't know how. I just buy and hold, and never sold even a single sat). I also started writing in blogs and forums. I enjoyed it so much that I decided I wanted to make a living out of it. I wanted to help Bitcoin win. I know first-hand what Bitcoin can do for people, for my fellow Argentines, and I wanted to help make that happen. And I was lucky enough I found a company that trusted in me to do that.

Now, I have a full-time job writing about Bitcoin and mining. It's hard, I'm not gonna lie. Sometimes I get heavily overwhelmed by imposter syndrome (English is my third language), but I keep trying anyway, and they are great and very patient with me. I post my articles here sometimes, and you're always my main source of traffic (thanks a lot for that!).

I make 9x what I did working 45 hours a week in Argentina. I get paid in crypto. F*cking hell, I'm even thinking of buying a house, something I couldn't even consider less than 2 years ago.

I have plans to leave Argentina for Europe next year. I'm currently in Italy getting my citizenship, then I have to turn back to get my stuff, and then I'll return to Italy, gone for good. Bitcoin also helped me do that, as I have access to all my money in just a few clicks.

So to all of you guys out there, know that you don't need Bitcoin to do 1000x for it to change your life. What I put in Bitcoin is not a fortune, and even if I got in very yearly, I didn't make life-changing money. However, by getting into Bitcoin, I did make a life-changing decision.

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TL;DR

I was stuck in a dead-end, low-paying job in a failed country. Bought bitcoin and, even if didn't make tons of money off my investment, I took great interest and found a job in the industry. Now I make 9x my former salary and I'm moving to Europe thanks to Bitcoin.