One of the few days I wish I could go back to and change my response was an evening around 2010–2011 when I was still in high school.
A big bro on my street back then told me about something called #Bitcoin . He said it was money on the internet and asked if I wanted to buy some. I laughed because it sounded ridiculous at the time. I depended completely on my parents for food, transport and school project fees, so spending money on something I couldn’t see or touch made no sense to me. He mentioned that if I had about ₦10,000, my country currency, I could buy a lot of it. I looked at him, shook my head and walked away.
I forgot about that conversation.
Years later, around 2016, when I started learning about crypto and understood what $BTC really was, that memory came rushing back. I saw how far the price had gone and that was when the regret started.
But instead of learning the right lesson from that regret, I reacted emotionally.
I told myself I would never miss out again.
So I started jumping into every new token I heard about. If it was trending, I bought it. If people were talking about it online, I entered. I didn’t read. I didn’t research. I didn’t understand what I was buying. I was trying to make up for the Bitcoin I didn’t buy years ago.
In reality, I was gambling.
I lost a lot of money this way. Money that took me time to save. Then I moved to memecoins, thinking quick pumps would help me recover faster, but most times I entered late or held too long, and the losses continued.
That was when I had to be honest with myself.
I didn’t miss Bitcoin because I didn’t have ₦10,000 in 2011. I missed $BTC because I didn’t understand how to recognize value, how to be patient and how to think long term.
And years later, I was repeating the same mistake in a different way by letting regret push me into bad decisions.
That realization changed how I approach crypto completely.
Now, before I buy anything, I slow down. I read about the project. I try to understand what problem it is solving. I check who is behind it. I study the tokenomics. I ask myself if this still makes sense without the hype. If I can’t answer these questions, I stay away.
I still think about that ₦10,000 conversation sometimes, but I no longer let it control how I invest.
Because I have learned that missing one opportunity is not the real problem.
The real problem is allowing the regret of that missed opportunity to control your future decisions.
Today, with thousands of projects launching almost every day and noise everywhere, it’s easy to feel like you are late again. But now I move with patience, discipline and due diligence.
The real lesson from missing Bitcoin was not about the money I didn’t make, it was about learning not to let regret control my investments.
And if you have ever felt like you missed out too, remember this, there will always be new opportunities ahead. What matters most is the mindset you carry into them. Learn the lesson, stay patient, do your research and don’t rush decisions out of fear. You are not late, you are just early to the next opportunity, this time with wisdom.
