I went from broke to millionaire in 7 years on a middle-class income thanks to Bitcoin

I'm posting this anonymously for obvious reasons.

I shared my story here four years ago. If you are curious, you can find it. I've been involved with r/Bitcoin since the summer of 2017 when I first bought Bitcoin in the $2,000 range. I distinctly remember celebrating 250,000 subs here, and this subreddit has been a great educational and meme-motivational resource over that time.

The Bull Market of 2017 was a wild ride. I experienced my first FOMO as the price went from $2,000 to $20,000. During that up-and-down cycle, I bought around one whole Bitcoin. I bought another full Bitcoin when it dropped to $4,000 in 2018. I felt satisfied with my 2 BTC, but my confidence waned so I didn’t continue stacking over the next 2 years.

In the spring of 2020, I sold my house, switched jobs, and suddenly found myself sitting on $30,000 in cash from the sale of my home and around 55k in a 401k. I watched as Bitcoin went from 4k to 7, 8, 9, 10, instead of going down to zero as the critics claimed. I decided to go “all-in” with these funds so that’s what I did. I bought around 3 Bitcoin with the cash and the equivalent of just under 5 BTC in GBTC in a new 401k. This brought me to just under 10 Bitcoin split between private custody and a 401k.

I watched history repeat itself in the fall of 2020, but this time, I had some real exposure to better gains. I watched as my life savings went from around $100,000 to over $600,000 at the top of the cycle in early 2021. Then, I watched as my roughly $600,000 returned to around $170,000 during the bottom of the bear market in 2022. That was tough to witness, but I looked at it and said “I’m still up from where I started.” Once you get past a certain amount of savings, the big swings hit differently. Even during the bear market, I knew I still had at least a 1-year emergency fund, which comforted me.Fast-forward to a short while ago when Bitcoin hit 92k. I soon realized that with the equity in our home and my exposure to BTC, my wife and I were finally millionaires. We’re still driving the same beater cars to work. I rarely sell our BTC, but when I do, I try to buy things/ experiences that will improve the quality of life for my family, and I’m quick to replace what I sold.

I make a middle-class income so I don’t often need to sell for the things I want/ need. Whenever I see a used car, 4-wheeler, boat, or new home I’m tempted to buy, I think to myself “I’d rather have Bitcoin.” The peace of mind it offers far outweighs the benefits of more junk. I used to tell myself I’d pay off my mortgage using proceeds from Bitcoin, but my mortgage is only about 9% of my take-home pay, and the interest rate is lower than inflation. I believe we will see 250k-280k by the end of next year, and the cycle will start again.

One downside to having such a nice safety net is that work has become very tedious. I have very little motivation to put in the extra time or to go “above and beyond.” I do my job, I do it well, I make money for my employer, but I’m not pushing for more like I would if I were still broke. I’ll post again in four more years with an update. I’m hoping to retire by 2030-2034. Stay safe out there, and only invest in Bitcoin what you’re willing to keep!