A few years ago, my friend Alex, a tech enthusiast, decided to dip his toes into the world of cryptocurrencies. One chilly November evening, he invested a modest $100 in Bitcoin, then priced at around $1,000. Skeptical but curious, he watched the market fluctuate wildly, sometimes shrinking his investment to despair-inducing levels. Fast forward to the winter of 2017, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of nearly $20,000. Alex’s $100 had ballooned to a staggering $2,000. He cashed out just in time to fund a dream trip to Japan. Today, he often jokes that Bitcoin paid for his sushi and cherry blossom adventure, a tale he shares with a glint of nostalgia and a hint of disbelief.