Growing up in a small eastern European country in the late 20th and early 21st century, I observed the country's economic and political transition. In the 1990s, when I was a kid, my country underwent a period of rapid change, transitioning from a socialist regime to a market-oriented economy. During this time, the country faced economic instability, high inflation, and currency devaluation.
These economic challenges, along with my interest in technology, led me to explore alternative financial systems and digital currencies. As the internet became more accessible, I started learning about Bitcoin, which emerged in 2009 and I found 2 years later in 2011. The idea of a decentralized, digital currency that can't be controlled/debased by the government and which could potentially provide financial stability and privacy in a transitioning economy like ours intrigued me.
Throughout my teenage years, I followed the development of Bitcoin and the blockchain technology behind it. Even though, there weren't many quality articles, suitable literature or anything else than the Satoshi whitepaper (at least to my knowledge back then), I somehow blindly felt it as a potential solution to some of the economic challenges I witnessed. Over time, I may have become an early adopter, by:
  • using my newly bought CUDA laptop 💻 (which was the state of the art back then) to mine while the difficulty was low.
  • investing in Bitcoin (much later), building and engaging with the growing cryptocurrency community 👪 in the country.
My journey into Bitcoin might have been influenced by the mixture of the unique economic and political circumstances in my country during that period plus my curiosity about technology and financial innovation.