My first interaction with bitcoin was at the end of 2015. I purchased an ‘Ignite’ ticket package for the Sundance Film Festival for new filmmakers, including tickets to films, events, and workshops with pro filmmakers. As a new filmmaker, there was nothing I wanted to do more. A few days later, I got an email from Sundance making sure that everyone who purchased the package brought an ID that proves they are under 24 years of age. This was a small print that I had missed when buying. At the time, I was a few years older than that.
There were no refunds, so I tried to sell the package but couldn’t find somebody in that age range that wanted to go. I figured I would check the dark web to see if I could get a fake ID saying I was 23 years old. I had no idea that Bitcoin was the currency of the dark web, but after I found a guy that agreed to make an ID for me, he requested the fee in Bitcoin. He taught me how to buy on Coinbase and send it to him. This was before Coinbase was KYC.
The price of bitcoin was $437 the day I bought it. We’ve all said this. But had I known, I would have loaded up on Satoshi’s early! After successfully transferring the Bitcoin, the fake ID maker was unresponsive and didn’t even send the ID! At the last moment, he sent me a PDF of the graphic, and I printed it out and photocopied it to make it look like a copy of a lost ID. The ID was a West Dakota driver’s license. Does that place even exist? At any rate, they bought it in Park City when I claimed the package.
I knew the photocopied ‘lost ID’ looked pretty crap, so I did my best to charm and distracted the ladies at the desk while they were looking at my materials. So it worked, and I had a great festival, met some filmmakers, and even got a few gigs from networking at the event. Since then, I have learned more and have been mining, trading, running a node, and traveling to Bitcoin conferences. Now and then, I look back at the purchase as a reminder of my first orange pill moment.
This is a guest post by Kidtoshi Lotsafomo. You can follow him on Twitter @MgkMshrmBrkfst. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Satoshi’s Journal or Satoshi’s Entertainment Company.
