{"id":7839,"date":"2021-06-04T10:44:15","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T14:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/?p=7839"},"modified":"2021-06-04T10:44:15","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T14:44:15","slug":"we-tracked-down-the-original-bitcoin-lambo-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/06\/04\/we-tracked-down-the-original-bitcoin-lambo-guy","title":{"rendered":"We tracked down the original Bitcoin Lambo guy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jay is the Bitcoin OG who created a meme by buying a Lamborghini with the cryptocurrency. He went from a poverty-level existence to enjoying a well-off lifestyle in a gated community thanks to mining Bitcoin in the early days \u2014 but not without having to worry for his family\u2019s safety.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As BTC first broke the $1,000 milestone in December 2013, former Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan suggested that Bitcoin could not actually be used to buy anything of value.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Jay (not his real name), then in his early 30s, and with the help of his wife who is also a Bitcoiner, used almost 217 BTC to purchase what is believed to be the original Bitcoin Lamborghini <\/a>at the Lamborghini Newport Beach<\/a> dealership. He then provided the evidence<\/a> on the anonymous imageboard 4chan.<\/p>\n

This proved that Bitcoin had real value \u2014 who would accept fake money for a Lamborghini? A meme was born that launched a million other memes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of overwhelming as an individual \u2014 I created a meme.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An archetypal Bitcoin OG, Jay got his start around 2010. Despite being broke and supporting a family on very low earnings in Southeast Asia, he ended up setting up 20 GPUs, resulting in electricity costs that were six times his rent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Lambo
Buying a Lambo with Bitcoin in 2013.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I was really poor \u2014 I made like $8,500 per year while supporting a family, and babies cost money. I had businesses and savings before, but going to university and starting a family got me damn close to $0,” he recalls, bewildered.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazingly hard to HODL bitcoin when you eat pasta every day and make fuck-all, and spend what you do have on computers and miners. But I had that faith, I knew this was world changing.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
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\"Fan<\/div><\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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Fan tokens: Day trading your favorite sports team<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/i> October 7, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
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\"Icelandic<\/div><\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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What it\u2019s like when the banks collapse: Iceland 2008 firsthand<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/i> October 5, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Crypto<\/div><\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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Crypto City: Guide to Tokyo<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/i> October 1, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
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\"Before<\/div><\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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Before NFTs: Surging interest in pre-CryptoPunk collectibles<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/i> September 27, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
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\"Bitcoin<\/div><\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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Bitcoin ledger as a secret weapon in war against ransomware<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/i> September 16, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Today, Jay lives in a gated community within a small city of under 100,000 in Southeast Asia with his wife, three children, and three dogs \u2014 one of them a professionally trained and imposing guard dog whom I had no doubt was ready to rip my face off on command when I visited.<\/p>\n

His home actually consists of two houses on two streets, discreetly connected in the middle, creating an understated facade. Whereas the front garage contains “normal” luxury vehicles, the back holds none other than Bitcoin Lamborghini 2.0.<\/p>\n

\u201cSadly because I was so close to $0 and had kids, I had to sell so much BTC so early because I wanted some safety net. I could add at least one zero to my net worth if I had no family \u2014 but it\u2019s a paradox because family is why I do it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/h4>\n
\"Lambo
The Bitcoin Lambo in Texas at a CryptoWomen meetup in 2014. Supplied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wealth worries<\/h4>\n

Jay\u2019s fortune is crowned by a loaded 1,000 BTC Casascius “physical Bitcoin” gold coin <\/a>of which only a few exist. It is, in fact, the most valuable coin in the world, with a face value of approximately $60 million dollars and a collector premium of many millions more.<\/p>\n

This is how we came to meet, as I act as a broker of such rarities and wrote the Encyclopedia of Physical Bitcoins and Crypto-Currencies<\/a><\/em>. For Jay, owning such coins can, however, prove stressful “if someone connects me to holding tens of millions of dollars in what are effectively bearer bonds.” Such coins hold the private key to the stated amount of Bitcoins under a tamper-proof label, making them comparable to bearer bonds, gold or cash.<\/p>\n

Such privilege is “difficult to deal with” on the family front, Jay says. Living in a country with a huge wealth disparity, he explains that money can be metaphorically used to build either a bigger wall to separate himself from the masses, or a bigger table in order to bring them to his side. “Honestly, I have to do both, but I want to build a bigger table,” he says. He feels that he faces very real threats, including the kidnapping of family members by international criminals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had issues with some Russian oligarchs in the past, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019m a target now.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Casascius
A loaded 1,000 BTC Casascius coin, which Jay bought for $5,000<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Still, it\u2019s hard to put worry or paranoia aside \u2014 states of mind that Jay considers natural to him. Late one night, as we enjoyed beer and burgers on the edge of town, Jay\u2019s merriness suddenly turned to keen attention as he spied a vehicle loitering near his Lamborghini. “It\u2019s been there over 30 seconds,” he said, appearing still nervous after the car drove off. “They were probably just admiring the car \u2014 but what if?” He was visibly uneasy.<\/p>\n

Initiation<\/h4>\n

Jay describes a normal childhood in an average lower-middle-class family in the U.S. midwest. Money was sometimes tight, but basic needs were covered and school was OK. He excelled in geography, which simply came naturally to him without the need to study.<\/p>\n

He started working at the age of 12, stapling large boxes together at a warehouse owned by a family friend. The work was repetitive and it was actually illegal to employ such a young child, but Jay was there willingly and feels that he gained a valuable perspective from socializing with business owners at such a young age.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\n \n
\n
\"Fan<\/div><\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n

Fan tokens: Day trading your favorite sports team<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/i> October 7, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t
\n \n
\n
\"Icelandic<\/div><\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n

What it\u2019s like when the banks collapse: Iceland 2008 firsthand<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/i> October 5, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t
\n \n
\n
\"Crypto<\/div><\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n

Crypto City: Guide to Tokyo<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/i> October 1, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t
\n \n
\n
\"Before<\/div><\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n

Before NFTs: Surging interest in pre-CryptoPunk collectibles<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/i> September 27, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\t
\n \n
\n
\"Bitcoin<\/div><\/a>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n

Bitcoin ledger as a secret weapon in war against ransomware<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/i> September 16, 2021<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After high school, Jay enrolled in a university close to home to study international relations and computer engineering. He, however, became disillusioned, believing that “a lot of what the university was teaching me was absolute bullshit” and mostly aimed at making him into “a good wage slave.” As he studied money, “it blew my mind that fiat money was based on nothing \u2014 it was debt.” He dropped out to run his own book-selling business, which he later sold to a firm that itself went on to be acquired by Amazon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe realization of the financial system and money being bullshit helped motivate me to drop out of university in the U.S.A. and do my own thing.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jay used the money to travel, first heading to Mongolia, which he felt might be a “missed gem” and might hold economic opportunities. Later in Kazakhstan, he spent time with a group that “trained golden eagles to hunt wolves,” and he heard high praise of Southeast Asia from other passing travelers \u2014 knowledge he filed away for later. His money ran low, and he soon returned to the U.S. where he found some success trading oil futures from home.<\/p>\n

“When the tsunami hit Southeast Asia on Boxing Day 2004, I realized that sitting around doing the bullshit nothing I was doing was bad and jumped on a plane to help.”<\/p>\n

Jay decided to stay and attended a local university, this time choosing to study business administration. Years after graduating and struggling financially, he came across the Bitcoin white paper in 2010 via the infamous Cypherpunks mailing list, where it was discussed in the early days of the cryptocurrency. He had read a book about cryptography before \u2014 he loved reading \u2014 and the project caught his eye. He found it brilliant, “but I thought there was a very low chance it could become worldwide money \u2014 it was too crazy.”<\/p>\n

The biggest draw was not the money aspect, but the idea that “this breaks censorship.” He recalls someone putting Bible verses into the blockchain early on \u2014 forever indelible. With Bitcoin, anyone could write freely on the wall of eternity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Celebrating Bitcoin breaking $100 on April 1, 2013. Supplied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Bitcointalk Forums<\/h4>\n

The Bitcointalk forum was an interesting place in the very early 2010s, a time when Jay remembers a collection of seemingly “random people with random ideas.” Bitcoin was then a primarily intellectual pursuit, and it attracted socialists and communists in addition to the libertarians who became more associated with the movement\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

One idea discussed around that time included the canceling and reissuing of coins after two to five years of inactivity at an address, while others suggested that mining rewards could be adjusted based on individual need or national income. As there was no firmly established value, the Bitcoin idea was considered quite malleable and not necessarily set in stone \u2014 it could become anything.<\/p>\n

Jay was confused by some of the discourse. “I wasn’t quite well-read in the philosophy then, so I didn’t really understand what the leftists saw in the idea,” he recalls.<\/p>\n

The culture of the forum evolved as waves of discourse and new users followed news coverage of Bitcoin. There was a loose “core group” of enthusiasts who considered each other close to the project; “some new people would be added every now and then, and some would leave.” The culture, however, grew more toxic.<\/p>\n

Though he first reasons that the toxicity was due to a “Wild West culture” that naturally forms in a gold rush of sorts, Jay notes that people in the contemporary WallStreetBets community, “seem to be incredibly polite and welcoming.” He adds that while he “does not want to say anything bad about anyone,” he assigns some responsibility for the culture upon the Bitcointalk forum\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n