After You Hit the Jackpot

It occured to me this morning that I should finally write a more detailed piece about my Bitcoin miracle, since that is probably what people would be most interested in. And they'd be right, it was almost the best thing that ever happened to me, but it's been such a hectic four years that I kind of got distracted.

First let me start out by clarifying that it wasn't a huge sum of money: $1.4M at peak — so I was flying coach, not on a private jet. But before this hyperinflation (and all the scam altcoins), it really seemed like a big deal for a 28 year-old starving artist in LA. Plus there was no sign of this exponentially growing wealth slowing down any time soon — and I had 99% of my net worth invested! But what I couldn't foresee clearly, despite my efforts, was the world of Hell creeping up from the shadows. I could only feel it... growing... this sense of inevitable doom that I was frantically racing to prevent. But let's backtrack a bit.

Sex

Obviously the first thing a young man does when he gets money is fuck a bunch of top-notch hoes. I remember seeing an ad about safe sex that said: don't fuck strangers, don't do drugs, and don't fuck without a condom. So I was a bit perplexed how simultaneously doing all three never led to an STD. Well, at least not until London, a few years later (which I cured). Anyways, let's not dwell on sex.

Love

Now this one really was a shocker. It kinda came out of the blue and I was unprepared for it, but I already wrote that story. See Liepa.

Taxes

I knew that taxes would be a headache, but in my case, perhaps because Bitcoin was political, or because I made so much so "easily," or because I was living in Russia (for girls) — it seemed that my accountants were really dragging things out with the IRS, in a very stressful way. I don't know if they were trying to squeeze some kind of non-existent admission out of me, or what, but it may have affected my health (I'm not sure).

People Act Like You Invented Capitalism

Despite obviously being a bohemian, pot-smoking LA artist, who hadn't even hit his 30th birthday yet, it's amazing how people instantly started labeling me as the out-of-touch, trust-fund, Country Club elitist — even though I was still ordering off the 99¢ menu a few months prior. And as much as I'd like to take up their sociopolitical qualms with whoever invented capitalism — I don't know him.

Everybody Hates You

Possibly the most fun of all, you suddenly find yourself the enemy of everyone, regardless of whether it makes any sense. People who only see the bright side of your life assume they should teach you what it's like to suffer. Far from showing gratitude, anybody that you helped resents you (because they feel indebted). And friends who neglected to take your financial advice, block you, to hide how ashamed they are. You see sides of human nature that you wouldn't have believed possible: like how even your best friend or family will cut off their own arm just to splatter blood on your new suit. It's like if you're winning at monopoly, so the other player overturns the board, because in the end, when playing fair no longer seems advantageous, people simply stop doing it. Why stay friends with a proven goldmine?

Hiding

At a certain point, I realized I had to go into hiding... just to take a breather and figure things out. I believe that period may be coming to an end (it never did). But now I understand why sometimes the upper class must be defensive, even though I just barely graced the surface of their world.

Other Projects

I eventually moved on to some other projects, though I don't discuss them yet.

Conclusion

Alright well hopefully that provides a half-decent summary. I'll just close by saying that, as challenging as this growing process has been, I think in the end it will have been worth it. Sure, I had to cut some old ties, but the future is infinite for those that make things happen. So I would encourage others to Take Risks too (but only when you know what you're doing!) because, well, it worked for me. I always figured it'd be better to lose in the big leagues, than win in the small. Good luck out there.

2024 Update

It turns out that several years after writing this article, I am still being seriously persecuted by an unknown number of shadowy parties that are hard to identify (which makes precisely determining or acquiescing to their objectives impossible). I'm not sure if they're working in cooperation or are even aware that there may be other hidden assailants complicating the situation. My hope is that my story eventually gets some press so that I, and others like me, will get justice for the immense losses we have been illegally forced to endure.