Starting off in BTC with my Dad, shortly before he passed away…and a word on DCA

I first learned about Bitcoin in 2012, but started buying towards the end of the 2017 bullrun. My father was a coin collector since he was a kid, and even though he was now in his 70s and physically not well, he was still very intrigued by crypto and virtual coins.

My Dad was a technology enthusiast his whole life. He worked in healthcare but tech was his passion. I can remember he bought a 1.0 Megapixel Olympus Digital Camera when it first came out, and the first CD-R on the market (I think it was a 2x Plextor). The first Betamax and VHS players, and was always building his own computers. He was never great with money, we always seemed to be in debt, but he loved his tech and we had fun!

Anyway, I made a couple small BTC purchases through a centralized exchange and told my Dad about it in early December 2017. He was excited! My Dad texted me that evening with an article, saying that I should probably purchase a hardware wallet. That was my last communication with him.

I planned to go see him the next morning for lunch which was our usual Saturday activity. I got a call that morning at about 4:30 AM from the local police dept that my Dad was found unresponsive in his car and had been transported to the local hospital. He usually left at 4 AM to drive himself in for kidney dialysis 3 days a week.

I jumped in my car and sped to the hospital; on the way there, I called and asked to speak to someone in the ER. I identified myself, and asked about the condition of my father. They said they couldn’t tell me any info on the phone because of HIPAA. I said “fine, let me speak to him.” Silence on the other end. And at that point driving towards the hospital, I knew he was already gone and it broke me. When I walked in, they tried to sit me down and I said “I already know, just let me see him.” I was devastated. I took a deep dive into crypto the following weeks to learn as much as I could, and it was a good distraction looking back.

The point of my story: my Dad left me a small monthly annuity when he passed, not a lot, but something. I never really got the chance to sit down with him and discuss crypto in depth. It’s something I daydream about often. I wouldn’t have been able to discuss it with anyone else in real life except him, still can’t, so here I am on Reddit. I decided to DCA the exact amount of the annuity every month into crypto from January 2018 onward. I tell myself that it’s like I’m investing in crypto with my Dad, and that gives me some comfort. DCA works quite well by the way it you’re patient! Give it time! It works!

BTW, Don’t count out all the boomers out there folks, there’s a good chunk of them that do/would love this tech and see how amazing it is given the right conditions and guidance. Let’s be inclusive.