This 18-year-old digital-currency millionaire thinks bitcoin could hit $10,000 a coin

This 18-year-old digital-currency millionaire thinks bitcoin could hit $10,000 a coin Bitcoin millionaire speaks at a TEDx Teen conference back in 2014. Erik Finman Erik Finman may be only 18, but he's a millionaire, thanks to a very shrewd and early investment in bitcoin. And despite the recent tumult in the world of digital currency and a huge run-up in the value of bitcoin, Finman is still a bitcoin believer. By his reckoning, the cyber currency still has a ton of upside. Indeed, Finman said recently that buying bitcoin now would be a "very smart financial decision." The teen mogul is putting his money where his mouth is. He owns 403 bitcoins, which give him a net worth of around $1.7 million. He's not going to college, and he doesn't have a steady job. He's just focusing on his bitcoin investments. Well, that and launching a satellite stocked with a signed Taylor Swift CD into low-earth orbit. His faith in bitcoin hasn't been shaken by recent events, such as the explosive growth of Ethereum, a rival digital currency system, the "hard fork" to bitcoin that divided the market for the currency, or the big rise in the value of bitcoin. Each coin is now worth more than $4,300, up from less than $1,000 each as recently as March. While there will be some "ups and downs" to bitcoin in the near future, Finman expects that it could go up "much, much, much more" — possibly to as high as $10,000 per coin. The alternatives Finman doesn't pay much mind to cyber currency alternatives like bitcoin cash, a currency that spun off from bitcoin following a schism within the bitcoin community. Finman sees it as an "alt-coin;" an offshoot that's more of a minor experiment than a true successor to bitcoin itself. Finman's also skeptical of Ethereum, which has been getting a lot of traction in Silicon Valley. Each ether — Ethereum's name for its digital coins — is now worth $300, and proponents see unlimited upside. Markets Insider But Finman believes that growth in Ethereum is being driven largely by speculators who are creating a bubble that could burst one day. In the bitcoin community, Ethereum is sometimes known as "Ponzi-coin," he said, a characterization that he "might agree with." There's "a lot of money short-term" to be made with Ethereum, he said, but he's unconvinced of its long-term viability as a true digital currency. He feels similarly about initial coin offerings, or ICOs, where companies are launching new currencies or digital tokens by exchanging them for bitcoin or ether. He thinks ICOs are "cool and innovative" in theory, but describes much of the execution as "Gordon Gekko-esque" — referencing the unethically greedy antihero from the "Wall Street" movies — insofar as they're largely unregulated and highly risky for investors. Get the latest Bitcoin price here. SEE ALSO: This teenage Bitcoin millionaire high school dropout is sending a signed Taylor Swift CD into space NOW WATCH: What you need to know about bitcoin after the split ‘Bitcoin Cash’ Jumps 86%, Now the Third-Most Valuable Digital Currency Bitcoin Cash, an alternative version of the digital currency bitcoin that launched earlier this month, saw its price spike sharply overnight, as much as 86% after the fledgling network showed it could handle the kinds of higher traffic for which it was built. Bitcoin Cash was most recently up 66% at $567. Its total market capitalization […] BBC starts Pidgin digital service for West Africa audiences BBC starts Pidgin digital service for West Africa audiences 21 August 2017 From the section Africa Share this with Facebook Share this with Twitter Share this with Messenger Share this with Messenger Share this with Email Share Share this with These are external links and will open in a new window Email Share this with Email Facebook Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with Messenger Messenger Share this with Messenger Twitter Share this with Twitter Pinterest Share this with Pinterest WhatsApp Share this with WhatsApp LinkedIn Share this with LinkedIn Copy this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40975399 Read more about sharing. These are external links and will open in a new window Close share panel Media playback is unsupported on your device Media captionBBC Pidgin: Meet the team A new language service for digital platforms in English-based Pidgin for West and Central Africa has been launched by the BBC World Service. Pidgin is one of the most widely-spoken languages across the region, even though it is not officially recognised. The launch is part of the World Service's biggest expansion since the 1940s, following a government funding boost announced in 2016. Pidgin will soon be joined by 10 more new services in Africa and Asia. BBC Pidgin Buhari speaks on return from sick leave Lagos - the city that keeps on growing Africa Live: Updates on this and other stories The WS also plans to offer more mobile and video content and a greater social media presence. It will also enhance its television services across Africa, including more than 30 new TV programmes for partner broadcasters in sub-Saharan Africa. Arabic and Russian programming will also be boosted in the 2020 project. What is Pidgin? A mix of English and local languages enabling people who do not share a common language to communicate West African Pidgin English was a language of commerce spoken along the coast during the Atlantic slave trade in the late 17th and 18th Centuries. Widely used in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea Primarily an oral language, without a standard agreed written form. Guide to Pidgin Pidgin announcement 'Cuts across barriers' It is hard to know the exact number of Pidgin speakers, as it is not formally studied in schools and is spoken with varying degrees of proficiency. But in Nigeria it is estimated that some three to five million people use it as their first language in day-to-day interactions. It is said to be a second language to a much higher number of up to 75 million people in Nigeria alone - about half the population. And it is also widely spoken in other countries in the region. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media captionOlajumoke: 'Tinie Tempah photobomb transformed my life' "It's an informal lingua franca. It is a language that really unites people and cuts across all sorts of barriers - ethnic, regional and socio-economic," says Bilkisu Labaran, editorial lead of the new BBC service. Although an exclusively Pidgin radio station Wazobia FM was founded some 10 years ago, the BBC will be the first to offer online services in digital platforms. Precisely because of its informality, it does not currently have a standardised written form. "The BBC is going to be a pioneer in this area," says Ms Labaran, a fluent Pidgin speaker. She sees a challenge ahead - but also an opportunity in the anticipated debate on harmonising the written and spoken word. What is on offer? BBC Pidgin will provide a mix of local, regional and international news current affairs and analysis - bringing the world to the region and vice-versa. The corporation says the new digital service will also aim to serve a younger audience and women with social media playing a key role. So in addition there will be "extensive coverage of culture, entertainment, entrepreneurship, science and technology, health and sport - including the English Premier League". The production hub is based in Lagos, the commercial capital, but reporters in Ghana and Cameroon as well as Nigeria itself will also be on the ground gathering news. In addition to Pidgin, Nigerians will also soon be able to access services for Yoruba and Igbo , complementing the current Hausa service and English output. As well as at bbc.com/pidgin the new service is also on Facebook and Instagram. Pidgin - what did you just say? I wan chop - I want to eat I no know - I do not know I no fit shout - I can't be bothered Wetin dey 'appen? - What is happening? How body? - How are you? Where you dey? - Where are you?