I've been in the cryptocurrency 'game' for about half a year now. Since then I've witnessed the industry explode into mainstream conversation - just yesterday I heard my colleagues talking to each other excitedly about "getting into Bitcoin". It seems everybody is excited about taking their finances into their own hands and away from banks and making a few bucks along the way. I am finally ready to take the next step and transition my entire financial life to cryptocurrencies. This post is some background on my journey into crypto so far, and where I think we're all heading. My subsequent posts will be a diary of my transition into a financially independent crypto life. ### Wave 1 ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeNRE6aACkuKV7ZTvqR84Fu8hZ2iZcEsB5ReEsv7y86SD/image.png) I heard about Bitcoin in 2011 when I was introduced to darkweb and tried mining from my laptop. Unfortunately my laptop was taking hours to mine anything so I gave up - 50 bitcoin just didn't seem worth it to me - if only I knew... ### Wave 2 ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZzLrafkZhTS4CFwEdoNJQ9bd8a8Cy7aFGWGwr511Fhmj/image.png) The second wave came in 2013 when the price exploded to over $1k and it looked like it was gearing up to take over. I didn't know too much back then and I didn't have any interest in buying in at such a high price. That was a good move - the subsequent market crash led to Bitcoin crawling back under that rock into obscurity from whence it came. The world wasn't ready for crypto - crypto wasn't ready for the world. ### Wave 3 ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQnxZUsSZCJGwAqMGCTqbvsp7UqmYA8tgfyV7VyTtZGYf/image.png) Then, late 2016, I came across a [*TED talk*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl8OlkkwRpc) touting the potential of Bitcoin and the Blockchain. I was sold on the underlying merit of the technology in its ability to free us to be sovereign over our own information. ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYeuRMXcEQiAbBxXY6mZyyazWiBjL3zRXgwK7yVaUZjWf/image.png) In my subsequent web searches I came across a [*video by **Crypt0***](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL1Telld9zQ) which took a look at the graph of Bitcoin and analysed the shape of all the previous periods of volatility bubble, burst, and subsequent stability. The conclusions was that we were entering a new period of serious volatility and price increase. He predicted we would end 2016 with $5000 bitcoin. He was wrong in the specifics, but very right about what the charts were telling him. I found this [speculative Bitcoin adoption/price theory](https://medium.com/@mcasey0827/speculative-bitcoin-adoption-price-theory-2eed48ecf7da) which hypothesises: > The growth of adoption of Bitcoin and therefore bitcoin price is following an S-Curve of Technological Adoption, which is itself characterized by fractally repeating, exponentially increasing Gartner Hype Cycles. ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQCAf83MLpzrQck34SyJ581VXgwF4BbpnewMYBWyXCheU/image.png) So I started putting money into cryptocurrency - only what I could afford, a little at a time. I treated it as my savings account, albeit with ridiculous interest rates. Of course, there will be a burst to this bubble (who knows when, or why - maybe caused by overvalued ICO's) however, like the last time, it will likely go under the radar again as further developments are made. During this time I will be accumulating as much as I can, preparing for the next bubble. ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUeweSbBfdvvaRseYzZoDf8j2332uax6LaJ5h5Y2nPkXv/image.png) ### The future of Crypto ![](https://i.makeagif.com/media/5-24-2015/FERcW-.gif) We are currently in the very early stages of building not only a new monetary system, but a new system of value exchange in which we are compensated justly for providing value. Say goodbye to middle-men. Steemit is a great example of how this will play out. It's quite difficult to believe that people are making real money using this platform. However when you take into consideration the more traditional platforms and advertisers that profit from our content, it makes a little more sense. If you look about 10 years down the line it's likely that we will all be living crypto lives. I suspect the turning point will be when children grow up using crypto - opting not to start bank accounts when they are old enough. Let's be ahead of the curve. ### Transitioning to crypto In this series I will be documenting my transition to Crypto-centric living, experimenting and answering questions like: * Is it possible to live on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in the current climate? * What are the trade-offs? * How difficult is it to transition? * How to stay safe? I will be experimenting with transitioning to a crypto centric life. I intend to pay for things in cryptocurrency, use crypto Visa cards, invest, and increasingly use digital blockchain platforms and technology. I will be documenting the experiment here on Steemit. Be sure to follow [~~*fishbrain*~~](https://steemit.com/@fishbrain) and get in touch if you're transitioning to a crypo life. [~~*fishbrain*~~](https://steemit.com/@fishbrain)