22-year-old Google techie loses Rs 67 lakh through crypto investment
The techie, unbelievably, lost Rs 67 lakh in crypto between November 2021 and June 2022, including Rs 24 lakh of his original investment and an estimated Rs 41 lakh in unrealised gains
- Sep 18, 2023,
- Updated Sep 18, 2023 6:33 PM IST
In an unfortunate incident, a 22-year-old Google techie lost a staggering Rs 67 lakh after venturing into the volatile domains of cryptocurrency.
The young software engineer, who hails from Ethan Nguonly from Orange County, California, began his investment journey in the stock market at a very young age, thanks to the help from his parents. His investment portfolio reportedly includes more than Rs 1 crore in retirement and brokerage accounts and two houses.
The techie, unbelievably, lost Rs 67 lakh in crypto between November 2021 and June 2022, including Rs 24 lakh of his original investment and an estimated Rs 41 lakh in unrealised gains, CNBC Make It reported.
Unrealised gains are profits that have been made on paper but have not yet been realised by selling the asset. In this case, the techie's unrealised gains were wiped out when the price of cryptocurrencies fell sharply in June 2022.
Nguonly told the publication that he had already invested over Rs 33 lakh in Bitcoin and Ethereum, in addition to a few hundred dollars in altcoins such as Shiba Inu and Dogecoin. However, as the price of Bitcoin declined, the techie decided to buy more using Rs 12 lakh borrowed money.
In the case of the techie, he was up about Rs 42 lakh when the price of Bitcoin reached its all-time high in November 2021. However, the cryptocurrency market nosedived in the following months, and by the summer of 2022, Bitcoin's price had crashed over 70 per cent. This means that the techie lost over Rs 67 lakh on his crypto investment.
“I was investing with some money that I didn’t necessarily have,” Nguonly told the publication. “Once the crypto market kind of reversed, my losses were amplified.”
Looking back, Nguonly regrets not so much the decision to invest in cryptocurrency as it does the use of borrowed funds in the ventures. "That's why my losses were significantly amplified," he explained.
Even though Nguonly continues to invest in cryptocurrency, he only invests in Bitcoin and Ethereum and stays away from less reliable options.
“I still believe in cryptocurrencies as a whole,” he told CNBC Make It. “However, I do think that a lot of these altcoins can be very risky and I avoid putting any money towards them.”
The biggest learning, he drew from his mistake is to “only invest money you have and don’t go un-leveraged into very speculative investments,” he said.
Also Read: Apple iPhone-maker Foxconn is ready to hire thousands of new employees in India
In an unfortunate incident, a 22-year-old Google techie lost a staggering Rs 67 lakh after venturing into the volatile domains of cryptocurrency.
The young software engineer, who hails from Ethan Nguonly from Orange County, California, began his investment journey in the stock market at a very young age, thanks to the help from his parents. His investment portfolio reportedly includes more than Rs 1 crore in retirement and brokerage accounts and two houses.
The techie, unbelievably, lost Rs 67 lakh in crypto between November 2021 and June 2022, including Rs 24 lakh of his original investment and an estimated Rs 41 lakh in unrealised gains, CNBC Make It reported.
Unrealised gains are profits that have been made on paper but have not yet been realised by selling the asset. In this case, the techie's unrealised gains were wiped out when the price of cryptocurrencies fell sharply in June 2022.
Nguonly told the publication that he had already invested over Rs 33 lakh in Bitcoin and Ethereum, in addition to a few hundred dollars in altcoins such as Shiba Inu and Dogecoin. However, as the price of Bitcoin declined, the techie decided to buy more using Rs 12 lakh borrowed money.
In the case of the techie, he was up about Rs 42 lakh when the price of Bitcoin reached its all-time high in November 2021. However, the cryptocurrency market nosedived in the following months, and by the summer of 2022, Bitcoin's price had crashed over 70 per cent. This means that the techie lost over Rs 67 lakh on his crypto investment.
“I was investing with some money that I didn’t necessarily have,” Nguonly told the publication. “Once the crypto market kind of reversed, my losses were amplified.”
Looking back, Nguonly regrets not so much the decision to invest in cryptocurrency as it does the use of borrowed funds in the ventures. "That's why my losses were significantly amplified," he explained.
Even though Nguonly continues to invest in cryptocurrency, he only invests in Bitcoin and Ethereum and stays away from less reliable options.
“I still believe in cryptocurrencies as a whole,” he told CNBC Make It. “However, I do think that a lot of these altcoins can be very risky and I avoid putting any money towards them.”
The biggest learning, he drew from his mistake is to “only invest money you have and don’t go un-leveraged into very speculative investments,” he said.
Also Read: Apple iPhone-maker Foxconn is ready to hire thousands of new employees in India