Cryptocurrency did what just about anyone said it would – burst. A classic repeat of the gold rush of the mid-1800s saw the media pick up on stories of digital currency surging in value, sending fortune hunters out to make it big with things like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. Tales of monetary loss are now coursing through places like Reddit.
Just as graphs suggested earlier in the week the profitability of Ethereum – one such popular cryptocurrency – has gone down the toilet, leaving those who went ‘all in’ extremely out of pocket.
Not everyone looking to get rich quick through cryptocurrency got in on the mining craze themselves. While some certainly double-dipped in mining and buying, those with the cash to invest filled their digital wallets with Ethereum in the hopes that the price would skyrocket allowing for them to sell it back at a profit. Those who didn’t disembark the sinking ship are now sharing their tales of woe in a Reddit AMA thread started by one such sorry sap.
Reddit user Jimmyn3wbert – whose name we might never know – started the Q&A on the Ethereum Trader subreddit last night. Revealing to have bought into Ethereum when it was worth around $1350 per coin, the confession brought in other high rollers ready to talk about their crushing defeats, staggering losses and how they ration flavor packets when eating instant noodles.
The session didn’t reveal much regarding Jimmyn3wbert’s exact situation, but it did reveal the extent of the losses suffered by those who bet their savings on the volatile market. One self-proclaimed Ethereum fan on a throwaway account admitted that their initial $37k investment was now worth less than half its original value.
Another user, known as antsminer425, reported having over $300,000 worth of Ethereum at its peak, but the ever-fluctuating market now values it at a noticeably lower $40,000.
The thread is full of depressing stories of massive financial loss, but there’s a certain upbeat humor to how many of those swapping tall tales poke fun at their own misfortune. The stabilizing cost of hardware may be a breath of fresh air right for gamers, but those with dreams of making it big have nothing but each other to keep their spirits high. Things could absolutely turn back around, but for now, it’s a lesson on the harsh realities of money.
