Crypto Went From Curiosity to a $40,000+ Bet—And It’s Taking Shape

by Henrik Bacilieri

When I first heard about Bitcoin, I shrugged it off like most people did.
It sounded like a fad—a tech nerd's fantasy, not a real financial vehicle.

But curiosity has a way of getting under your skin.

Back in late 2015, I decided to take it seriously enough to learn. I read, I watched, I asked questions. And slowly, I started buying in.

Not all at once. Not with wild confidence.
Just steady curiosity-driven investment.

Fast forward to today—I now have over $40,000 in crypto across several assets. And here’s the crazy part: it’s not just sitting.
It’s growing.

💰 How I Built My Crypto Exposure

I didn’t throw a lump sum into Bitcoin and call it a day.

This happened through consistent contributions, mostly small at first:

  • $500 here, $1,000 there

  • Sometimes bi-weekly, sometimes monthly

  • Always from a budgeted “experimental investments” bucket

I focused on:

  • Bitcoin (BTC): my foundational position

  • Ethereum (ETH): the tech I believed had long-term value

  • A smaller spread into assets like Litecoin (LTC) and Dash, just to learn from behavior and patterns

What started as a side project is now a meaningful piece of my portfolio.

📈 What the Numbers Look Like

I’ve invested just over $27,000 into crypto since late 2015.
Today, it’s worth around $42,300.

That’s nearly a 57% return in a space most traditional advisors still won’t touch.
It’s not just thrilling—it’s taught me things I didn’t expect.

💡 What Crypto Has Taught Me So Far

1. This space demands emotional discipline.
Watching my ETH holdings drop 20% overnight tested me. But staying calm, staying invested, and not chasing every shiny new token has paid off.

2. You earn your conviction through research.
I don’t invest in coins I don’t understand. I spend time reading whitepapers, watching developer trends, and understanding roadmaps before I put in a dime.

3. Diversification applies here too.
I’m not overexposed. Crypto’s about 12–15% of my total net worth right now. High enough to matter. Small enough to keep perspective.

🛠️ My Strategy Moving Forward

Now that the portfolio is no longer just “experimental,” I’m changing how I manage it:

  • Cold wallet storage for large holdings

  • A separate spreadsheet tracker for performance

  • Monthly rebalancing based on core positions

  • Logging lessons as I go, especially during volatile swings

I’m not here for quick wins. I’m playing the long game.

🎯 Why This Feels Like a Shift

Crypto is no longer “the weird side project.”
It’s a real piece of my wealth-building strategy. Still risky. Still volatile. But it’s earned a seat at the table.

And with everything I’ve learned from traditional investing, I feel more equipped to manage that risk intelligently.

This isn’t about chasing hype. It’s about preparing for a world that’s already changing.

Henrik Bacilieri

Popular posts from this blog

About Me – The Start of Something Different

Image
Hey there, My name is  Henrik Bacilieri , and this blog is a new chapter for me—a space where I’ll be documenting a journey I’ve only just begun. I was born on  November 9, 1990 , in a small town called  Sicily , Italy. Life growing up was simple, and like a lot of kids, I had big dreams. First, I wanted to become a  pilot . That was the dream that lit up my childhood. I’d stare up at the skies and imagine myself flying across the world. That didn’t pan out. Then came  soccer . I was convinced I’d make it as a professional player. I worked hard, pushed myself, believed in it… but that didn’t take off either. After a few dead ends and a lot of self-questioning, I found myself in the  United States , living with my uncle in  Ohio . That’s where things started to shift—slowly. I was introduced to  finance , and something just clicked. It wasn’t love at first sight, but the more I learned, the more intrigued I became. The idea of building wealth, unde...
Read more

How I Found Finance in Ohio

  by Henrik Bacilieri If someone had told me five years ago that I’d be sitting in Ohio writing about  finance , I probably would’ve laughed. To be honest, I didn’t even know what “finance” really meant back then. I grew up in  Sicily , Italy—small town, small circle, and even smaller conversations about money. We talked about work, family, and dreams... but no one really talked about  wealth , or how it was built. For a long time, I didn’t even know that was an option. Back home, I dreamed big. First, I wanted to be a  pilot . That one didn’t last long after life hit me with a dose of reality. Then I tried to chase  soccer —my passion, my escape, my everything at one point. But sometimes passion isn’t enough when you’re missing the right system, resources, or timing. By the time I landed in the  United States , I was kind of at zero. I moved in with my  uncle in Ohio , just trying to reset and figure out what came next. No master plan, no backup ...
Read more

Stepping Away for Now

by Henrik Bacilieri I’ve written dozens of posts on this blog—some excited, some uncertain, some proud, some reflective. But this one feels different. Heavier, maybe. More personal. I’m stepping away from the blog for the foreseeable future. This decision hasn’t come lightly, and I owe it to you—whether you’ve read every post or just a few minutes of one—to explain why. Life Behind the Curtain The last few months have brought a mix of incredible highs and unexpected challenges. On paper, things look amazing—my portfolio has grown well past $8 million under management, my real estate journey is maturing, crypto has been strong, and I’ve even found someone special I’m building with. But success doesn’t inoculate you from struggle. I’ve been going through some personal issues that have made it hard to write, to share, to even show up publicly the way I used to. These challenges are deeply personal—rooted in identity, privacy, pressure, and the weight of rapid growth. As a result...
Read more