When I was first redpilled I understood it was a solution to the Byzantine generals problem. I understood it was a decentralized ledger secured by proof of work. You ran qt on your desktop and GPU mined while you still could (ASICS were coming). One bitcoin was ~$500.

I had a general grasp on what it was and why it was important (censorship resistant p2p medium of exchange) but I didn’t see why it was important to ME. I didn’t use PayPal. I didn’t need it at the time. Shit I even knew about the halving schedule. And yes, DOGE was a thing then.

I didn’t have a way to buy coins so I figured I’d mine them instead. My coworker wouldn’t sell me his and I wasn’t about to get goxxed like the poor bastards before me. I calculated electricity costs on different GPUs and tried to learn the technical aspects. Thanks bitcointalk.

After months of studying; it wasn’t feasible to mine at 30¢/kw so I shelved the idea and tried to focus on other things. I wish I had stuck with it and tried anyway, but chances are I would have become a shitcoiner or lost funds to sketchy exchanges, wallets, or hackers.

Life got in the way and I do regret it. The next time I looked at it was the halving in 2016. Interest piqued but not reignited. That came later when we broke ATH. Eth was on everyone’s radar and I wanted to buy some. Prices were around $9.

Now here’s the kick in the teeth. Every exchange I tried to sign up for wouldn’t take me. They were flooded with applications and newly enacted state laws prohibited me from KYCing on the more reputable sites. I was forced to watch on the sidelines that entire bullrun.

While it was fun to watch I made sure to stack as much dry powder as I could to buy the inevitable bottom. What goes up must come down. I’d seen it before. I’d just need to wait another few months. In the mean time I worked/studied hard and dissuaded top buyers over thanksgiving.

Eventually I was able to start averaging in. My original goal was to get to one block reward (25btc) at the time (2014), 21 after learning about the million club meme. I’ll likely never hit it but I’ll keep trying to. I’ve been around a while but only now am I a bitcoiner.

There are levels to this journey. Personal and definitional. Some call it the three touches but whatever you call it, theres a difference between understanding something and knowing something. From having 1% exposure to 101% exposure. From owning bitcoin to owning bitcoin zen.

I identify with the 2014 crowd because that’s when I learned bitcoin. When I understood it. I also identify with you plebs because that’s when I knew it. When I went all in.

Popping in and out doesn’t make you a bitcoiner. Conviction does and I’m making up for lost time.