In 2014, when I was a freelance writer searching for stories to tout to willing recipients, I happened upon a curious news item.

A guy from Raglan (who will now be known as "Raglan") had made $100,000 from a $2,000 investment trading an esoteric digital currency called bitcoin. This whopping 4,900 per cent return would be a "wow" moment for any speculatory investor, and my interest was piqued.

Thanks to Google, I quickly discovered more about bitcoin. Launched in 2009 by an entity known as Satoshi Nakamoto (real identity unknown) it was built on global free-market idealism, a means of value exchange that was free from the confines of traditional banking.

Ostensibly a currency (although you couldn’t buy anything with it), bitcoin was being treated as an ersatz asset class - without any regulatory backing, and existing solely in the nebula of cyberspace.

My investigation led me to down to craggy digital depths, where bitcoins were “mined” by tech geeks running up huge power bills, and rewarded with bitcoins of their own.

I discovered that bitcoin had inspired a raft of other crypto currencies; Litecoin, Ripple, Ethereum – all of which had their own fan base.

The whole concept was odd, frustrating and fascinating in equal measure.

I eventually tracked down Raglan, who was happy to chat with me about his experience.

I dutifully crafted a story around this weird new world, and was happy when it was picked up by a major local news outlet.

During one of our conversations, Raglan had pointed me in the direction of a site where I could buy bitcoin.

I was wary. This all occurred just after the demise of Mt Gox, a Japanese bitcoin exchange founded in 2010, which then handled over 70 per cent of bitcoin transactions.

The bitcoins it was storing had been “stolen” by hackers; it had abruptly closed in 2014, losing hundreds of millions of dollars (of other people’s money) in the process.

My memory of visiting the crypto site Raglan recommended is hazy. But I do recall that when I was about buy two bitcoins (at around $400 each) I changed my mind. It was too risky for a poor jobbing journo.

A pregnancy, baby, and many house moves stole my attention for a few years – bitcoin didn’t feature.

But a news headline in 2022 bought it crashing back to mind. Bitcoin had topped US$60,000, or $108,000 in local currency. Then, in late 2024, Trump’s championing of crypto currency saw it surged again, this time to US$109,000 ($197,000).

Hindsight is a b*&ch.

Becoming mainstream

As the owner and editor of Informed Investor, I’m now able to indulge my resurrected interest in everything crypto.

I even made some money on it – investing in an early bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) and doubling my $1,000 tipple in a few weeks.

The past 16 years have proven that bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies, can work for some investors - if they are prepared to play the long game.

Naysayers (and there are many) have long predicted the downfall of bitcoin and other crypto assets. And there have been dramas.

We've touched on Mt Gox, and who can forget the Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) debarcle in 2022.

It was discovered that SBF had transferred millions of dollars from his popular FTX exchange to his crypto trading firm Alameda Research – without anyone’s permission. He lost the money and is now serving a 25-year sentence for fraud.

But bitcoin keeps bouncing back. Its current value in New Zealand dollars is $146,212.

Digitisation is transforming every aspect of our lives. Reserve Bank New Zealand (RBNZ) is considering the introduction of a central bank digital currency, with a business case set to be presented to government in 2026.

Bitcoin, and the crypto assets that have sprung up in its wake, may be highly volatile, but they have carved the way for more widespread digitisation of the banking system.

They may have started off as a libertarian dream, espoused by free-minded investors who wanted to ride the zeitgeist. But as more investors are won over by these strange assets, it may not be long until the cutting-edge becomes the mainstream.

Next up: where on earth is Satoshi Nakamoto?