Bitcoin & crypto's Wild West was preceded by an all-out jungle landscape. However, most seem to believe the opposite.

2011 was literally nothing but danger

And this position is pressed by those copy pasta articles you often encounter that declare, "If only you had invested $1 in BTC early, you'd be so rich--but you're not."

Click-bait garbage.

You did good by NOT entering the space. Most lost big.

BTC REACHES PARITY @ $1

Bitcoin hit $1 parity in 2011. I mined thousands of Bitcoins and negotiated a dangerous landscape, until I didn't. You didn't invest in Bitcoin. You mined it, connected with others, and determined the fastest way to rid yourself of it. We all lived in fear of what was next.

We didn't even know if what we did was legal.

Most people who bet big on BTC when it hit $69,044, and lost everything--don't talk. And neither do the OG's who lost early. That's unfortunate because they're in a position to impart valuable information to new entrants.

I'm writing a few legacy posts (all data & doc supported) to share a clearer picture of those years. I'm no crypto expert or authority. I share what I learned and I hope you gain a better perspective and look beyond the meme-driven narratives that clutter our information cycles.

Early on, your off-market threat risks were:

• Scammers
• Gangsters
• Government

Sometimes, a single threat qualified as all 3.

WAS BITCOIN LEGAL?

Its why you don't hear of more OG millionaire stories. Our main concern was "Is this legal?" We didn't know. FinCen didn't offer guidance until March, 2013. There were few on/off ramps beyond mining.

Casascius coins made BTC physical tokens, but the manufacturer stopped minting because we didn't know if we were criminals or not. And neither did he.

Mike Caldwell terminated production of one of BTC's coolest ideas. And yes, they are real! A piece of Bitcoin history. If you have one, post a pic. I was foolish and didn't keep mine.

Real BTC - Purchase included a transparent film that when held o light, revealed your keys

Cacascius Bitcoins by Mike Caldwell

There were many others, but Mike Caldwell's were top quality. Coin to the far right is worth $663,400 today. I understand his decision. We all did. If FinCen declared BTC illegal, we had no idea what sort of trouble we faced. Otherwise, you might still see these today.

THE MINING WARS

When BTC hit $10, the mining war started.

I ordered an array of rigs from Butterfly & another from Avalon. Paid 2000 BTC. Most of my stack. A major expense, but I was betting on Bitcoin's future.

Butterfly never sent me the equipment and I received Avalon rigs a year later.

Suspicions emerged with this post until it blew up and brought Avalon and Butterfly major trouble

During those months, my existing rigs became obsolete.

We investigated ourselves and learned they were mining with the equipment we paid to have built. By the time I received the rigs, they were half used and becoming fast obsolete.

This was a devastating beat. I was knocked out of the mining game and would need to find ways to buy it.

ENTER MT GOX

I started buying BTC off Gox. They were the only player and hardware wallet equipment wasn't available until August, 2014.

I remember the day I couldn't access my account. Window said to check back at 9 PM. We would never access the accounts again. I lost big with Butterfly & Avalon. That growing sensation gripped me once more.

It was over with this message from MagicTux. Now it was complete. I had lost everything. 3 years of work erased.

https://preview.redd.it/s5ge981q7vpb1.jpg?945&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2718aafdff162f58f7a0c23b194ca1c35c83f546

That's just my story.

But there are many like it or worse.

JUSTICE DEPT SWEEP

Many lost all their Bitcoins after Ross's arrest. The Justice Dept used the cover from that event to confiscate BTC from thousands of wallets, not just the Silk Road's. In 2015, they were auctioned to wealthy investors, just as this redditor called it, two years prior.

Nailed it!

I stayed out of crypto three years. Everything had been taken from me, and I was filled with resentment. I avoided news because I didn't want to know the BTC price. I returned exactly 3 years later Feb 10, 2017. I started buying ETH at $11, then BTC a year later at $6800. It took me a year because I felt sick buying Bitcoin at those insane prices. But it was moving and I had to get in.

Both seemed so expensive at the time

I resumed the journey in a foreign crypto space.

To make it in crypto, be prepared to make it more than once. This is a dirty business, and it's okay to take losses.

Stay in the fight!

Best of luck to you.????

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The Silk Road is crypto's wildest and most incredible story ever. Its Breaking Bad meets Monty Python. How it hasn't been turned into a motion picture or Netflix multi-part drama is beyond me. It's beyond belief. But things that never happen, happen all the time in crypto. My next post is about Silk Road and how early Bitcoiners had a different outlook and why I know 100% adoption is coming. I'll share that with you.