A trader who bought bitcoin in the early days shares how he navigates the crypto market in 2025

NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images * Tech entrepreneur Alec Strasmore ventured into the bitcoin market in 2013.

• In the years since, he's explored other cryptos, riding the wave as the market soared.
• He advises traders to use crypto X but urges caution due to the platform's many scam accounts.

Alec Strasmore remembers the exact moment in 2013 that he decided to buy bitcoin for the first time.

"I was sitting in a limousine bus for my cousin's bachelor party," he recalled. "I was a 21-year-old kid and I had a choice. Was I going to spend the $1,500 in my own digital currency that might be a bet on the future, or was I going to spend the money on a table in the nightclub?"

Strasmore ultimately opted for the latter, at a time when the cost of bitcoin was roughly $250 per coin. "For me, the answer was very clear. I doubled down and bought five and a half bitcoin."

An early crypto journey

From there, Strasmore tried to convince everyone around him to follow his example, although he admits that many people brushed him off at the time.

But Strasmore clearly wasn't discouraged, and he says that his adolescence prepared him for a foray into digital currencies.

"I was an indoor kid growing up. Gaming was a big part of my existence," he said. "In every video game, there's some universal currency, so it all kind of pieced together for me."

After his initial 2013 purchase, Strasmore continued his journey into crypto investing. Other cryptos, such as ethereum, Cardano, and XRP, were slowly rising to prominence at a time when mainstream skepticism remained high.

"I didn't know what I was dabbling in," he admitted. "I was not a sophisticated financial investor or participant. I was a lucky kid who understood the parallels to culture and how it would eventually make it mainstream."

Despite this characterization, Strasmore recalls the price predictions that he and his initial partner made in their first office in Los Angeles. "We were trying to educate ourselves, not just on the acquisition of the asset, but the actual use case and the utilization of the trading component," he said.

Advice for future crypto traders

This focus on use cases and real-world utility for crypto might have helped fuel Strasmore's trading, but he also says his exposure to other experts was instrumental.

"Due to being an early adopter, I've been able to hang out with some of the best in the space," he stated. "You don't have to be a day trader to make money in crypto. You just have to know where the world's going."

Story ContinuesSo, how should new and aspiring traders stay on top of the market?

Strasmore highlighted the importance of social media spaces, specifically X. However, he stressed that the platform contains plenty of misinformation and scams, advising new investors to approach it carefully.

He added that the platform is home to many "cabal leaders." This term refers to users who will constantly be trying to revive former tokens to launch new ones in an attempt to expand their reach and convince retail investors to buy into the asset they hold in order to drive the price up.

Stramsore said these users will often have large social media followings but no actual industry credits. As he noted, those are key factors that investors should look for when assessing the advice on a crypto X profile.

"You're looking out for the people who are just megaphones, who are most likely copy and pasting the same content day over day, week over week, and using the word shill," he said, adding that in his view, users who don't maintain anonymous profiles and hide their names are likely more trustworthy.

"If you're an authentic crypto creator with a real personality," he stated, "you stand in front of that camera, you put your reputation on the line if you believe in something."

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