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Bitcoin's early backers, who entered the market in 2011, were desperate for publicity but failed to make a fortune themselves

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He wrote books like "mastering bitcoin," "mastering ethereum," and "currency Internet," but didn't make a fortune on bitcoin.

The originalTitle: "bitcoin's early backers who entered the market in 2011, desperate for publicity, failed to make a fortune."
Block chain in plain English by JackyLHH

"It's like the old adage that used to go all over the Internet: I took 100 lines of Python code to replace your entire industry, and that's exactly what we're doing with bitcoin." - Andreas m. Antonopoulos

Since the first bitcoin was created in early 2009, only 11 years ago, bitcoin has gone through tremendous changes. The price has gone from nothing, from 10,000 COINS for two pizzas to more than $20,000 at its peak. Attributes range from "playthings" in the cryptopunk community to goods and asset attributes recognized by the country, and even legal means of payment in some countries (such as Japan). The scope of the influence has expanded from the narrow circle of technology geeks to various fields around the world, prompting discussion and application attempts of "blockchain +".

In addition to the genius of satoshi nakamoto, bitcoin has been able to achieve these achievements thanks to the tireless publicity and promotion of believers, advocates and preachers over the past 11 years.

Among the many bitcoin promoters, Andreas m. Antonopoulos is undoubtedly one of the most credited:He has written more than 200 articles on bitcoin, given dozens of presentations around the world, his YouTube channel is the most subscribed video column in the cryptographic community, and his book "mastering bitcoin" is considered the most classic textbook on advanced bitcoin... .

But instead of enjoying "freedom of wealth" as a result of bitcoin's spectacular price rise, the man who has helped spread the currency has even had to rely on donations on Patreon to fund his work and life.

What little is known about Andreas m. Antonopoulos's story behind the contrast? Today, we will learn about his legendary life together.

01
Early experiences

Andreas m. Antonopoulos was born in Athens, Greece, in 1972. At that time, Greece was still under military rule and its economy was very backward. Even after the fall of the junta in 1994, the country's economy did not improve immediately. Instead, the sharp drop in GDP was accompanied by inflation of up to 30% and a poor standard of living.

Born and raised in this country, poverty, high inflation and financial problems left an indelible mark on the young Andreas m. Antonopoulos. He started his business early, but at the age of 17, the reality of Greek society threw cold water on him. " I saw how business was done in Greece, so I left. "

Andreas m. Antonopoulos chose to continue his studies at University College London in the United Kingdom for a bachelor's degree in computer science and a master's degree in data communication networks and distributed systems. After graduation, he moved to the United States and began his career.

As someone who watched the Internet develop from the start, Andreas m. Antonopoulos joined the Cypherpunk group while in the United States. Cryptopunk is an Internet community whose mission is to protect the privacy of individuals on the Internet. Satoshi nakamoto's white paper on bitcoin was first published on the cryptopunk mailing list.

02
I first learned about bitcoin

"The first time I came across bitcoin was in the middle of 2011, and I was like, 'ha! Nerd money!

Andreas m. Antonopoulos loves to tell the story of how he discovered bitcoin, and cryptocurrency aficionados love this anecdote because almost everyone who touches bitcoin for the first time in their lives has the same reaction.

Because Andreas m. Antonopoulos failed to grasp the importance of bitcoin, he ignored it for six months. He was reintroduced to bitcoin during a mailing list discussion. Instead of glancing at it this time, he chose to read nakamoto's bitcoin white paper carefully.

"I still remember the moment when I finished reading the nine pages of the white paper and understood:Bitcoin is not just a digital currency, but a network of trust that provides the foundation for money and many other things."

Andreas m. Antonopoulos's understanding that "it's not a currency, it's a decentralized network of trust" got him hooked on bitcoin. His hunger for any bit of information about bitcoin grew so intense that he spent more than 12 hours a day for four months reading, writing, learning and programming as much as he could.

"By the time I got out of this obsession, I had lost more than 20 pounds because I didn't eat regularly, and I was determined to devote myself to bitcoin." Andreas m. Antonopoulos wrote in his book mastering bitcoin.

03
Evangelism bitcoin

With his mind made up, Andreas m. Antonopoulos stopped working on everything else and devoted himself to cryptocurrencies. His background in computer science, distributed systems and cryptography, combined with his childhood in Greece, made him one of the first people to fully understand the importance of bitcoin from a technical, philosophical, economic and social perspective.

In January 2014, Andreas m. Antonopoulos joined blockchain.info as chief security officer and later served as an advisor to the board of directors. On October 8 of the same year, he participated in a hearing held by the Canadian senate as an expert representative to answer questions from senators on how to regulate bitcoin. His speech directly affected cryptocurrency legislation in Canada and around the world.

He also became a teaching researcher at the University of Nicosia, the first University in the world to offer a master's degree in digital currency and the first to launch a digital currency MOOC.

The first edition of mastering bitcoin, by Andreas m. Antonopoulos, came out in December 2014. Although it was written for developers, it immediately became a must-read for an in-depth look at the bitcoin system, being translated into more than a dozen languages by volunteers around the world. The hard core of the book's content can be seen in print, produced by O 'reilly Media, one of the most famous O 'reilly animal series in the IT world.

In addition to being known as "mastering bitcoin," Andreas m. Antonopoulos later wrote "mastering ethereum," "currency Internet," and other books.

In addition, he often travels around the world to give speeches to let more people know about bitcoin. His twitter account has nearly 510,000 followers; The YouTube channel has 191,000 subscribers, making it the most subscribed video column in the encrypted community. His "Let s Talk Bitcoin" audio podcast, which he hosts, has also been well received.

Andreas m. Antonopoulos has become one of the most influential bitcoin evangelists in the cryptocurrency world, thanks to his impeccable eloquence and gift for distilling complex technical terms into a language anyone can understand and digest. But instead of enjoying the so-called "freedom of wealth" of bitcoin's huge price rise, as such an influential figure and an early bitcoin participant, he even once relied on donations.

04
A preacher with a different heart?

On December 5, 2017, bitcoin Jesus Roger Ver posted a post publicly challenging Andreas m. Antonopoulos, saying that he had been "ostentatively" talking about bitcoin in public since 2012, but had actually invested very little of his own money. If he had invested $300 in bitcoin in 2012, he would be a millionaire by now.

Andreas m. Antonopoulos quickly retorted that he had invested in bitcoin in 2012, but had to sell it in 2013 to pay his rent. For those two years he was so absorbed in his bitcoin sermons that he had no other disposable income, either in wages or investment income, other than the rewards from his fans. He wanted to take on more debt, but it was irresponsible for his family to do so.

Bitcoin aficionados around the world began donating when they learned about Andreas m. Antonopoulos's plight. Within days, he had received 102 bitcoins, worth more than $1.7 million at the time.

After receiving bitcoin donations from around the world, Andreas m. Antonopoulos wrote a heartfelt blog post expressing his gratitude:

Working in bitcoin is a battle against cynicism, negativity and regret.
... .
Yesterday, you fed my soul. You have reminded me why it is so important to be optimistic, focused, and determined to overcome cynicism. It is a long and difficult road. Sometimes, I will also be confused, but, whenever I am confused, you will stand up to help me find the direction, refocus. You let me know, on this road, I am not alone, you are with me... .

Finally, Andreas m. Antonopoulos, mindful of the "original intention" of the sermon, restated his goal at the end:

Today, I will be more focused on my goals: educating the next 10 million users, training the next 10, 000 developers, doing it all in every possible medium, putting in more words, more energy, more passion, and an indomitable optimism.

05
conclusion

Although Andreas m. Antonopoulos has written extensively about bitcoin, he doesn't like to be called a "bitcoin extreme" or, as he puts it, "I'm not a bitcoin extreme, but I have an extreme desire for bitcoin."

The reason why bitcoin has the impact it has today is that a lot of evangelists like Andreas m. Antonopoulos have been working around the world to get more people to recognize bitcoin and the ideas behind it.

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