I’ve always wanted to own one bitcoin. Now I’ve decided.
Switching my perspective from value to ownership and the future.
I’ve decided to acquire one bitcoin.
Putting aside all other news, I want to own a bitcoin. Not only one, as I’ve mined and made profit in the past with fractional amounts and will continue to use it, but one to specifically keep to myself. All investments are risky, but this is less about the money up front than it is about watching something happen. I want to be a part of whatever the result is. I’ll continue to make other financial steps toward my future but I wan to accomplish this.
I’ll be totally transparent. As of this article’s publish date I own about two percent of a bitcoin. It’s no longer something that’s easy to acquire in high volume due to the price increase over time but I still think there’s a lot of value left. Newer coins and tech are out there but I think that Bitcoin will always be sort of a safe investment bet. Here are a couple of reasons why I am going for it.
Scarcity
I won’t spend too much time on this topic. There are only twenty-one million bitcoin that will ever be newly minted via transaction mining. To put that into perspective, there are almost twenty-two million millionaires in the US alone. If everyone who could afford a bitcoin wanted to, it would simply be impossible. Considering this is a globally known asset, this makes it even more desirable as long as it retains value.
Mining and Halving Events
Mining
Bitcoin mining is a huge money-maker for large institutions and mining operations. With the current price of $50,981 USD per bitcoin and a reward of at least 6.25BTC per solved block (plus miner fees, but we’ll keep those out for easy math) then a single block solve brings in $318,631.25 USD. With every block solve algorithmically adjusted to hit every ten minutes… that’s a lot of cash to grab if you’ve got enough power for it (or if you’re really really lucky).
But what does mining have to do with me wanting to own a single bitcoin? First we have to understand halving events.
Halving Events
A halving event happens every 210,000 blocks solved. The goal is to introduce scarcity by reducing the total mining reward by one half. The last time this happened, the mining reward dropped from 12.5 to 6.25. While history should not be used as a standalone indication for valuing a product, the value of bitcoin has significantly risen around 90–150 days following a halving event.
The way I see it
Large mining companies are basically digging for gold. Based on biases like sunk cost and time it’s unlikely that mining is going to cease until the last “new” coins are generated. This is estimated to happen by the year 2140. The primary reason this impacts myself is based on average life expectancy. That date is roughly 80 years past my average life expectancy. Green energy will make mining more attractive. Chip enhancements will make it more competitive. Halving events will make the reward worth more to those miners.
Even after the last new bitcoin is minted, the adoption rate will have increased by then. Transactions mined will contain a lot more in fees which are also rewarded to miners when a block is solved. Continued support for running the network will still have incentive. This is very important.
Countries are adopting it as a usable currency. Other countries are considering using it to value-back fiat currency. Miners are using it to turn a profit. Individuals like myself are using it as an asset to combat inflation and hold an investment.
Yes, there are risks. I just don’t see that risk being too great if the model is to gain and hold one bitcoin. I’m willing to acquire and invest in an asset in order to watch how it unfolds. If it goes the way it looks on paper then I will have made a lot of money (if fiat comparison is still the norm by then). If it crashes then I’ll lose some money but will have gained a lot in knowledge. What I don’t want is to know to myself that I didn’t at least become a part of something so interesting in this time of my life.
Not Financial Advice
There are some hard facts that show the genius behind how Bitcoin was designed. There are also so many ways that it could fail. After reading everything I could find and thinking to myself about how the future will unfold, I’m betting that holding one bitcoin will prove to be extremely valuable. I know I could be very easily proven wrong.
I don’t know how long it will take, but through employment, side gigs, writing these articles, bonuses and other means I will eventually hold one bitcoin while also living my best life. After that, I sit back and watch.
What are your thoughts about Bitcoin? If you agree or disagree with an of my points feel free to reach out via comment.
