Thursday, December 07, 2017

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien

I was looking out back this morning at the ruins of a cheap -- $99 -- teepee-style tent that I bought a few years ago. My off-the-cuff calculation of the current market price of the Bitcoin I spent on it: $30,000. In the area where I live, I could probably buy an acre or two with a livable trailer home on it for that.

I turned around and looked at the $200 TV -- 1080p, 32-inch -- I also bought with Bitcoin more recently. Current market price of the Bitcoin I spent on it, around $3,000. Which means if I had held on to that Bitcoin, I could buy a larger-screen, 4K TV with it right now.

In 2016, I paid for my Libertarian National Convention package with Bitcoin, and that Bitcoin is worth quite a bit more now than it was then, too.

If I had kept all the Bitcoin I ever had, I would not be a "Bitcoin millionaire" today. But I'd probably be close to being a "Bitcoin hundred-thousandaire."

I've seen some people expressing regrets over similar calculations lately. I'm not one of them.

It's true that I've tried to "buy low, sell high" when using Bitcoin. I'd get a little, and then when the price went up, I'd buy myself something nice with it.

But my main interest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has never been speculation as such. It's been participating in the use of a new medium of exchange with properties that I like.

So no, I'm not bothered by the theoretical "loss." I made out OK, and had fun being a fairly early adopter who actually used the stuff for one of its key purposes.

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