Loi Nguyen began his journey as an investor in 2017 by buying a few hundred dollars worth of BTC, ETH, and traditional stocks. In November 2021, his cryptocurrency investments exceeded his entire stock portfolio.
A young resident of Queensland, Australia played the long game of accumulating Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) for several years to finally beat the rise in property prices during the 2020 rally and own his dream home.
His interest in cryptocurrencies reached new glory while studying Economics. He commented that “cryptocurrencies came back into my life when I took a course in college on inflation. Know that Bitcoin can be disinflationary.”
Speaking to news.com.au, Nguyen revealed that the lower interest rates (less than 0.5%) offered by traditional banks could never help break into the real estate market. Following a dollar-cost averaging (DCA) investment tactic, the feckless investor continued to diversify his crypto portfolio amid the temporary bear market of 2018. He acknowledged having taken many risks. He said that “I wanted to protect my purchasing power, protect my current savings, and make sure my money wasn’t in short supply.”
What Nguyen Did
When traditional markets crashed during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nguyen’s cryptocurrency investments exceeded the value of his stock portfolio. That is when his investment focus shifted away from traditional markets towards cryptocurrencies, eventually amassing 1 BTC over several months.
In order to buy real estate, Nguyen cashed out his cryptocurrency investments during November-December 2021, a timeline in which BTC hit an all-time high of $69,000. In total, the young Australian sold less than half of his cryptocurrency portfolio, leaving him with around $31,400 (A$ 43,000) to give to the bank as part of the down payment.
Nguyen bought a one-bedroom apartment in Brisbane, which was priced at USD 314,000 (A$430,000) and required approximately USD 62,735 (A$ 86,000) as a down payment. “About half of that was made up of cryptocurrencies,” Nguyen added.
After finishing high school, Nguyen worked full-time for a year as a bank teller, but earned a low salary of about $20,400. “I’m much better now,” he concluded.
Australian Advisory Council Lists Key Factors to Facilitate Cryptocurrency Adoption
Australia’s cyber security advisory, the Cyber Security Industry Advisory Committee, recently highlighted numerous opportunities specific to the crypto space.
As Cointelegraph reported, the study titled Exploring Cryptocurrencies supports the need for a regulatory framework to achieve greater clarity and trust regarding cryptocurrencies for the Australian market.
The federal advisory recommends exploring four key areas that can “help ensure the safe adoption of cryptocurrencies in Australia,” which are minimum cybersecurity standards, capabilities (awareness through specialized training), as well as a “follow the leader” approach and operator transparency.
Regarding minimum cybersecurity standards, Jonathon Miller, managing director of the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange in Australia, believes these and “more resources to fight sophisticated cybercrime will go a long way in protecting investors.”
As for capabilities, the Cybersecurity Industry Advisory Committee recommends raising public awareness through the education of professionals on the available possibilities of cryptocurrencies and related cybercrimes and threats. This takes us to a “follow the lead” approach where Australia learns and implements international best practices in the field of cryptocurrencies.
Finally, considering the pseudo-anonymity inherent in cryptocurrencies, the committee calls for increased transparency regarding registered cryptocurrency exchanges and Blockchain companies.
Overall, cryptocurrencies entail a huge potential for people like Nguyen, who in other circumstances might not be able to make their dreams come true.
By Audy Castaneda
