Dan Larimer was broke, living in his parents’ house, driving his mom’s 2001 Nissan Altima and dealing with a messy divorce when he first discovered bitcoin in 2009.
That’s back when one of the cybercoins cost 5 cents — instead of the $8,000 to $10,000 they were selling for last week.
The now 35-year-old Virginia Tech graduate bought $20 worth, which was enough given his financial straits at the time. Today, that investment is worth about $4 million.