High School Boy Becomes a Millionaire Through Bitcoin and Is Not Pressured to Attend University

What seemed like a 12-year-old boy’s joke became reality, to his parents’ own surprise. The miracle was made possible by the virtual currency Bitcoin.

The story of 12-year-old Erik Finman's wealth began with bitcoin. After receiving USD 1,000 from his grandmother for his birthday, he decided to take a risk and invest in bitcoin. At the time, bitcoin was still little known and worth only about USD 12 for 1 Bitcoin. Fortunately for him, its price rose unexpectedly by more than 100 times in just 2 years, increasing his assets to over USD 100,000. Now, at 18, his cryptocurrency holdings exceed 400 Bitcoins, equivalent to more than USD 1 million. Besides Bitcoin, he also invests in many other cryptocurrencies, such as Litecoin and Ethereum.

Erik Finman has always held a negative view of education. The first thing he did after becoming a millionaire was start an online education company called Botangle, allowing students bored with today's traditional teaching to learn online through video chats with teachers.

At age 14, before founding his company, Erik Finman demonstrated his abilities by going to a nearby Starbucks and offering free coffee to anyone willing to listen to and comment on his online-school idea. At 15, his startup earned him an internship in Silicon Valley, after which he moved to San Francisco to live on his own.

Erik Finman and his friend.

Erik Finman is currently collaborating with NASA on a project aimed at attracting talented young students in science. Erik Finman said he had no regrets about his decision to forgo university as his family wished, saying: “With the way the education system is currently organized, I don’t think people should go to university.” Erik Finman further emphasized, “I think people should use the internet, where everything is free. You can learn knowledge millions of times more valuable on YouTube and Wikipedia.”