IF anyone has the authority to say “I told you so”, it’s got to be the bloke who predicted the Bitcoin boom a decade ago.
Davinci Jeremie urged people to take a chance on the cryptocurrency for just $1 (78p), but his desperate pleas were largely ignored.
However, he has certainly had the last laugh – as betting on Bitcoin’s success on the global market has paid off massively.
Despite his eerie prediction being overlooked by his online followers, Davinci stuck to his guns and gambled his own cash.
The risk has since made him filthy rich – and the crypto king now boasts a net worth of more than $10million (£7.2million).
He is never too far away from a fast car, private jet or yacht filled with glamourous women ready to whisk him away.
Let’s hope Davinci spares a thought for those who shrugged off his claims about crypto ten years ago.
The Chilean software developer first introduced Bitcoin to his audience in 2011, where he hailed it as “amazing stuff.”
He admitted he was even sceptical of cryptocurrencies at first, but changed his mind after looking into it further.
Two years later, Davinci returned to his YouTube channel to encourage viewers to invest in the virtual currency for just $1 (78p).
He said: “Look, for the price of a lotto ticket you can hold Bitcoin for 10 years and become a millionaire.
“It’s time you stop living in fear. If it goes to zero you lose $1, who cares!
“But if I’m right I want all of you to thank me, it will not make me happy if you come back to me in 10 years saying ‘dude, I wish I listened to you back 2011 or 2013’.”
At the time, the price of one Bitcoin per $1 was $116.75 (£91.60) – but at its peak in 2021, its worth ballooned to a whopping $61,000 (£48,000).
Despite the highs and lows that come with investing, it has steadied itself out for now and currently holds a value of $30,000 (£23,500).
Davinci has certainly done well out of it, as a quick scroll through his Instagram offers a peek into his lavish lifestyle funded by Bitcoin.
The tycoon holidays in the likes of Dubai and Monte Carlo, relaxes on superyachts and parties with the rich and famous.
He previously shared a post showing him posing with three bikini-clad women on a flash cruiser off the Mexican coast.
“A yacht filled with women, you know I am down,” Davinci wrote. “This was just a taste.”
Whether his road to wealth was a stroke of luck or genius remains debatable – but the millionaire is certainly smug about it.
Davinci recently told CoinTelegraph: “Once in a while, something comes along that makes poor people rich because they got it really, really cheap.
“This was one of them. I thought I was gonna be the hero to my community, but no, they thought I was crazy.
“They actually thought I was losing my mind.”
As a reminder of the self-confidence that kicked off his journey to success, Davinci now wears a huge Bitcoin ring on his middle finger.
He describes himself as a “Family Man, Programmer, YouTuber, and early Bitcoin adopter” in his Twitter bio.
Davinci is still a huge fan of cryptocurrency despite conquering the sector and now mentors aspiring investors to achieve their goals.
The risks of buying with cryptocurrencies
Investing and making a purchase in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin is risky .
Their value is highly volatile and City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority has warned investors should be prepared to lose all their money.
Investing in cryptocurrencies is not a guaranteed way to make money.
You should also think carefully about making purchases with a cryptocurrency.
For example, Bitcoin has had wild price fluctuations in recent months and the price can change on an almost hourly basis.
The price of a Bitcoin was at $40,258 on January 9, according to Coindesk, but fell to $34,214 just three days later.
That’s a 15% drop.
These price swings are risky for a business as you could sell an item for a Bitcoin at one price and the value may drop soon after, leaving you with less money from a sale.
Similarly, the price of Bitcoin has soared by more than 21% since the start of this week so it can be hard for a shopper to get an accurate idea of the price of an item if its value changes on a daily basis.
