Idaho man who became Bitcoin millionaire at 18 after $1,000 investment at 12 now has enough money to never work again

This Idaho man became a Bitcoin millionaire at the age of 18 when he reaped the rewards of a $1,000 investment he made six years earlier – and now he never has to work again.

Erik Finman has admitted that his online image in the years since hitting it big has been something of a ‘Richie Rich’ character.

But he’s actually more nuanced than one might expect of a teenager who hit the jackpot.

Finman spoke to Supercar Blondie about what motivates him, what he’s seen change with regard to Bitcoin, and what advice he gives to aspiring investors.

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How did Erik Finman become a Bitcoin millionaire at age 18?

There’s been a lot of stories about people hitting it big through BTC – remember the guy who told everyone to invest $1 back in 2013?

But there’s also been many tales of people who lost out, whether it’s because their BTC ended up in a landfill, they forgot their passwords, or they turned down certain gigs.

Looking at you, Lily Allen.

In the case of Erik Finman, he hit it big at a very young age.

In 2018, he became the world’s youngest Bitcoin millionaire, thanks to an investment he’d made six years prior.

Finman’s interest in Bitcoin began when he was attending a political protest in Washington DC at the age of 12 with his older brother.

“There was a guy with this orange shirt on with a bee on it that looked like a dollar sign,” Finman recalled.

“And, you know, I jokingly asked like, ‘Oh, what’s your shirt mean?’

“And he said, ‘It’s Bitcoin, man. It’s going to end Wall Street, bro,’ and ran off.”

This prompted him to research Bitcoin, which was relatively unknown at the time.

Having been given a substantial amount of birthday money by his grandmother, Finman decided to put that towards the then-obscure cryptocurrency.

“She gave me the $1,000 for college. And then, I did not put that into college. I put that all into Bitcoin, kind of behind my parents’ back, when Bitcoin was extremely low because I really believed in it,” Finman recalled.

“I think the beauty of being 12 – and I like to think I still maintain this today – is the beauty and appreciation for the new, and the beauty and appreciation for things you don’t understand.

“And I think I’ve kept that childlike quality in myself that most people lose with time.”

It’s been around 15 years since Finman first discovered Bitcoin, and a whole lot has changed in that time period.

“I think it’s more focused on casino culture and gambling, I would say,” he said.

“Back then, a lot of the original people that got rich on Bitcoin were the people that really saw it as more of a political tool than saw it as a get-rich-quick scheme.”

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Would he advise others to invest in cryptocurrencies?

Since becoming a Bitcoin millionaire, Finman has become something of a cryptocurrency celebrity.

When he’s not giving TEDx Talks, he’s being profiled by the BBC, The Guardian, CNBC, and Business Insider, among other outlets.

While Bitcoin may not be at the height of its cultural significance – that was arguably years ago – it is still something Finman sees value in.

“The price is way bigger than it was in 2018. I mean, it went up to like $120,000, and then now it’s around – at least as of yesterday when I checked – it was around $90,000,” he said.

“I think Bitcoin price-wise is way bigger than it ever was. Even though culturally, its biggest moment was in 2017 and 2018.

“Despite being one of the youngest in the space, I kind of miss the old days of Bitcoin. I feel like a crotchety old man where I go, ‘You know, it was better back then.'”

At the time this article was written, the price of Bitcoin was around $68,000.

But that’s still a whole lot of money – so Finman inevitably gets people seeking his advice.

“Everyone asks me, ‘Should I get into Bitcoin?'” Finman said.

“Obviously, I got in very early, so I do recommend it. But I always advise: don’t put money into something that you’re not prepared to lose.

“So I think I’m always very blunt on that when people ask me.

“The biggest kind of price jump with Bitcoin, where it was easy to kind of put in a little money and get a lot out of it, has passed.

“I’m always prepared to lose.

“At 12, I was prepared to lose $1,000.  I think now when I do my investments, I’m prepared to lose money.

“I think the biggest misconception about Bitcoin and the crypto world at large is that it’s a casino that you can make money off of easily.

“You have to be very deliberate in what you’re doing, especially in the current-day crypto market.

“I think the biggest misconception about crypto is that you can still make a ton of money off of it by just buying and holding. And I think you have to be more clever than that now.”

Being a real-life Richie Rich

When Finman first made the news as a rich teenager, his image screamed ‘Rich teenager’.

In a 2018 interview with The Guardian, Finman can be seen lying on top of $100 bills, sunglasses, and flashy watch in tow.

The article’s caption even read: “He’s not as awful as he seems on Instagram.”

This was all part of Finman’s brand.

“If you read that Guardian interview I did, I put on a kind of persona. I like putting on a persona to get attention. I guess maybe that was the goal,” he reflected.

“I was a very nerdy kid, and I think it was fun to put on sunglasses and to sit on beds of money and stand on top of fast cars.

“So when people think I’m going to be stupid, I like being smart. When people think I’m going to be nerdy, I like to be obnoxious.

“Sometimes it is fun to be an obnoxious Richie Rich kid. And I think sometimes it is fun to be more of an intellectual.

“I think if anyone has any misconceptions about me, they’re misconceptions I want on purpose.”

How has becoming a millionaire at such a young age changed his life plans?

He’s 27 now, and that’s usually the age when a lot of people would want to start feeling settled in some sort of career.

But for him, he’s got the freedom to indulge in whatever he wants.

In the past, he’s worked on several projects, including an online educational platform called Botangle, and collaborating with NASA to launch a satellite into space containing a digital time capsule.

“I have enough money to not work for the rest of my life.  I love music. It’s probably my favorite thing in the world.  

“I have an anonymous account under a pseudonym that is a very growing account where I do music stuff, and I think that’s exciting, and I think it’s a little bit different,” he revealed.

“I hate the idea of just doing one thing for the rest of my life – whether that be crypto, whether that even being a political junkie, whether that’s being Richie Rich.

“I like to do things that are different because I get bored easily. The privilege of money is that you can do whatever you want. Every rich person I’ve met is nine times out of 10 terrible and annoying.

“Making money is a skill set you can get good at, like in the way that running is. So you can just get good at it and be bad at everything else. I was really good at Bitcoin. I think there is a sense of there was a skill at that.

“Bitcoin has given me a freedom to pursue whatever I want in life. Music may not be successful for me, but it’s like a diary entry. It’s like a journal entry – that the joy is just doing it, and there is no goal to it.”

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