Portuguese Consumer Organization Highlights Bitcoin Investing Couple
Portuguese consumer protection organization DECO recently published an article about bitcoin in one of its monthly magazines, dubbed “Dinheiro & Direitos .” It essentially covers the basics and adds that more information is to come by the end of July.
According to the publication, back in 2015 a Portuguese couple, aged 41 and 42, knew nothing about digital assets or cryptocurrencies. After one of them, Jorge Olino, did a design gig for a Chinese client in Australia, he was met with an offer: to receive the €750 payment in bitcoin.
At first, the couple refused, as they didn’t know the cryptocurrency and would prefer to receive their payment in fiat. The client insisted, and the couple decided to learn more about cryptocurrencies and realized that bitcoin wasn’t controlled by any bank or government, that transactions are safe, and that the money could help take their 9 and 4-year-old kids on vacation.
At the time, one bitcoin was worth little over €200, so Jorge’s payment was worth over four bitcoins. He proceeded to create an account on Coinbase so he could get paid for his work.
Selling Bitcoin for Fiat
The couple was asked by the publication how they dealt with this type of technology, given that it was completely new to them. Jorge firmly stated that he wasn’t afraid to try new things, as he was comfortable with digital innovations.
His wife, Filipa Bolotinha, has a degree in economics and was rather skeptic about bitcoin. She told the organization:
“I only wanted to know how I could turn those bitcoins into [fiat] money so I could buy ham!”
The couple proceeded to sell their bitcoins for fiat using Coinbase. At the time, they presumably just wanted to use the money to take their kids on holidays and buy food.
Investing in Bitcoin
While Jorge was learning about bitcoin, and creating an account on Coinbase, bitcoin’s value increased. Instead of getting €750, he got €765…. The difference made him realize this was a real opportunity and, since then, the couple decided to start setting aside €25 a month to buy bitcoin.
After only eight months, the €200 the couple had saved nearly tripled in value, as the cryptocurrency’s price was surging. Despite losing the chance to still have four bitcoins worth over €8,000 at today’s rate, the couple is now slowly building up a real bitcoin investment.
Nevertheless, the couple seems to believe bitcoin might be in a bubble that can pop at any time and wishes to maintain only a small part of their money in bitcoin. Keeping them from investing more of their money is bitcoin’s decentralized nature, and presumably the lack of regulations in the country.
If, according to experts, one bitcoin is going to be worth as much as $50,000, the couple would have received about $200,000 for one design gig. The small amount of bitcoin the couple saved would, in this scenario, be enough for them to buy a high-end car, assuming they keep investing at the same rate.
Despite the lack of regulations in the country, bitcoins may now be taxable in Portugal, as recently reported by CCN.com.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
