10. “She [now] says that I should be allowed to buy the things I want.” — Kristoffer Koch, student
In 2009, the Norwegian student Kristoffer was writing his master thesis on encryption technology. When he read Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper on Bitcoin, the insights from his study helped him see the impact this new cryptographic technology could have.
He spent $26.60 to buy bitcoins. That doesn’t sound like much, but given bitcoin was so new at the time, it gave him an incredible 5,000 bitcoins. And although it was only $26.60, his partner was sceptical about spending “real money” on “fake money.”
Fast-forward to 2013 and Kristoffer saw bitcoin in the news. He did a quick calculation and realised he was close to being a millionaire. He sold 1,000 of his bitcoins and bought an apartment. If he still holds the other 4,000, he is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Regardless, his girlfriend now “Says that I should be allowed to buy the things I want.”