Man forgets he once bought $25 of Bitcoins -- now worth $848K
A Norwegian man bought 5,000 Bitcoins in 2009. Suddenly, he wonders what they're now worth. A lot, is the answer. In fact, he's already bought an apartment with some of it.
The things you don't think about can often bring you the most joy.
They manifest themselves to you at the most wonderful moments. Yes, sometimes they then leave you for a children's party magician, but that's not what happened to Kristoffer Koch.
In 2009, this no-doubt relaxed Norwegian wafted about his computer and decided to do a little online shopping. He spent 150 kroner (around $25.43) on some Bitcoins.
Actually, it was slightly more complex than that. At the time, he was writing a thesis about encryption and happened upon Bitcoin in passing.
As Norway's NRK reports, he made his purchase and then forgot all about it.
But once the Winklevii invest in something, you know it's going to be big. Indeed, earlier this year, the famous twins claimed they own 1 percent of all Bitcoins.
So, with the non-governmental currency more in the news, Koch wondered just what his might be worth. It turned out to be 5 million Norwegian krone (around $848,000).
Beat that, Big Boy Buffett.
Koch told NRK that it took him a while to locate the encrypted password. But soon he began to convert his Bitcoin into real coin, getting around $75,000 every day.
"Every morning I went online banking and saw that the account had grown," he told NRK, via my Google Translate button.
He decided to do the sensible thing. He bought an apartment, which is currently being renovated.
The sudden windfall may have helped his personal life. When he made his original purchase, his girlfriend was less than impressed.
Koch said: "She thinks I spend money on a lot of nonsense. I buy various technical gizmos that I never have time to use, and this was the worst of all, I bought nonsense money."
Nonsense can, indeed, make you a fortune. Just ask most Silicon Valley companies.
Oddly, his girlfriend is now, according to Koch, rather more impressed with his spending skills.
The value of Bitcoins isn't stable, butthere's a Bitcoin ATM in a Vancouver coffee shop, should you happen to have also bought some in the long distant past.
Wordpress and OK Cupid are among the companies that now recognize the currency. So if you have Bitcoins, you might also be able to use them to create something very beautiful and then share it with someone you'd like to love.
What might the next great investment be? Well, I just Googled that for you.
Number one result: Immortality.
Number two: "Not in America."
Number three: "Maternity clothing..
Number Four: A toothbrush that's been to the moon.
I prefer to stick to serendipity. It's just more exciting.