When I first encountered Bitcoin, I think it was roughly $10 for 1BTC. I needed to pay for access to function libraries in a PIC32 programmer's repository for a product I was developing back then and Bitcoin was one of the payment options. At the time I had no appreciation of what Bitcoin was about but it seemed a novel idea so I decided to give it a try, even though easier payment options were available (I guess it's a geek thing). It seemed pretty cool but I wrongly assumed it was just some sort of gamer's token, totally missing the point and potential of the technology. I also made the common beginner's mistake of assuming I had to buy whole Bitcoins. I needed about $15 worth to pay for access to the repository so I bought 2BTC, leaving me with around 0.5BTC or 500mBTC.
A year or two later, I read that the price of Bitcoin had risen substantially. Remembering I'd purchased a small amount, after a little searching, I managed to find the relevant info and gained access to my 500mBTC stash, which was now worth about $150. I still wasn't taking it seriously at this point but a few things I read about it sparked my interest. I read that it was based on open source software and cryptography but I think the thing that really intrigued me was that it claimed to provide a solution to the age-old
Byzantine Generals' Problem. As a programmer myself, I knew this was a pretty big deal.
So I started doing a little research and read the
Bitcoin whitepaper. Digital cash was nothing new -- we use it everyday in the form of credit cards and bank accounts -- and decentralised, distributed databases weren't exactly a new idea either but I realised this paper was something special, it was proposing a solution to the Byzantine Generals' Problem and a way to provide an incorruptible database that is inherently verified and secured by everyone who uses it. I was fascinated and promptly bought more Bitcoin, though by then it had already risen to around $200-$300 for a whole BTC.
Funny thing is, back then, buying a few BTC at $200-$300 each, I felt I'd missed the chance to buy cheap. I had, but had I realised the potential and foreseen the widespread adoption we're starting to see now, I'd have bought a lot more. Many people still believe (and with sound mathematical reasoning) that the price will increase much much further as it becomes more mainstream and widespread. Conservative estimates are in the $100,000-$500,000 range but some are predicting it could go as high as $1 Million per BTC:
https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-will-hit-1-million-5-10-years-says-paypal-director/
Personally, I think Ethereum is the one to watch. Ethereum's technology makes Bitcoin seem primitive by comparison. Considering the enormous potential and endless usage possibilities of the Ethereum network, like many people in the cryptocurrency space, I believe it is seriously cheap and undervalued right now:
https://www.inc.com/brian-d-evans/ethereum-ether-could-be-worth-more-than-bitcoin-very-soon.html
