The road not taken: Jealous brother claims twin earned $10M in Bitcoin

Many late adopters of Bitcoin often lament the fact they missed out on the chance to purchase coins when the price was under $1,000, $100, or even $1. However, one Redditor says his own situation is even worse as he’s forced to compare his “dumb” decision to invest in silver against his twin brother’s much wiser decision to back Bitcoin. 

The story — which may be apocryphal given the source is a throwaway account named “TheDumbTwin” — claims the two brothers each received a $100,000 inheritance in 2013 but took drastically different financial paths.

“I’ve been a silver bug, and I argued that silver was, IMO, the best alternative investment to stocks and bonds,” said the Redditor.

“He had just learned about Bitcoin and was adamant that the return could be exponential. I had vehemently argued against Bitcoin, saying that it was pure speculation and would be a total waste of money.”

TheDumbTwin claimed that despite his protests, his brother invested roughly $50,000 in Bitcoin (BTC) when the price was $100 (the crypto asset stayed below $200 until late October 2013) meaning he may have purchased around 500 BTC. With Bitcoin recently topping the 2017 (former) all-time high the coins would be worth roughly $9.6 million today.

The twin claims his brother’s investments are now valued at more than $10 million, while the $30,000 he chose to put into silver has dropped to $26,000 in value. In January 2013, silver was worth more than $30 per ounce, while today the precious metal is roughly $24 per ounce.

“His wealth in Bitcoin alone is more than 100 times greater than my entire net worth,” he said.

“He had just learned about Bitcoin and was adamant that the return could be exponential. I had vehemently argued against Bitcoin, saying that it was pure speculation and would be a total waste of money.”

While the story cannot be independently verified, the concept of missed opportunities is one which Bitcoiners are familiar with, given the crypto asset is within striking distance of $20,000 for the first time in three years. Redditors were quick to offer their thoughts and advice:

“Pretty much every single day of your life, you miss out on an investment opportunity that could make you millions,” said jackgundy.

“Never put all of your eggs in one basket,” said spatialsilver88. “You didn't have to choose between silver and crypto. You could have done both."

Unlike well-known twins in the crypto space like Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss whose wealth appears to have risen in tandem given they founded Gemini together, the “dumb” twin claims he “can’t get over the overwhelming thought” of why he didn’t take the same financial path as his brother.

“I try to be thankful for what I do have, and I try to be thankful since I know that many other people in the world have it way worse,” he said. “But I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it.”

Redditor folkwoodswest, summed it up best with a quote attributed to U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt: 

“Comparison is the thief of joy."