Buying in

Thomas Blackwell in the taxi looked at the dimly lit street of Manhattan, his laptop bag secured tightly over his shoulder. The weight of his plan pressed heavily on his mind, but beneath that pressure was a growing sense of excitement.

The streets of New York, 2010, felt eerily different. The cars were older, their designs less sleek and modern. The neon signs of some businesses were outdated, bearing logos that he barely remembered. The air was cleaner—less dense with the pollution and constant noise of the future.

The most jarring difference?

No one was glued to their smartphones.

Instead, people casually strolled along the sidewalks, some chatting, others lost in thought. A man passed by with a BlackBerry in hand, thumb scrolling over a tiny trackball.

Thomas exhaled.

"This is real," he muttered under his breath.

He had actually traveled back in time.

And now, he had one shot to execute his plan.

The hotel he had scoped out beforehand was a modest three-star establishment, neither too cheap nor too flashy. The kind of place that wouldn't ask too many questions.

He stepped inside, maintaining a calm, casual demeanor. The lobby smelled of fresh coffee and industrial cleaning products.

A bored-looking receptionist glanced up from behind the front desk.

"Welcome to Parkside Hotel. Checking in?"

"Yeah," Thomas said smoothly, placing a $100 bill on the counter. "Cash. No need for ID."

The receptionist barely blinked. In 2010, things were still looser—cash was king, and privacy wasn't yet a luxury.

She handed him a room key without another word.

Thomas climbed the stairs instead of taking the elevator. He needed a moment to think.

Once inside his room, he locked the door, drew the curtains, and dumped his bag onto the bed. His laptop was his most important tool right now.

He powered it on.

A translucent golden interface flickered into existence before his eyes.

> System Notification: Remote Banking and Payment Services Activated.

Host can access overseas bank accounts without restrictions.

Transactions will process seamlessly without verification issues.

He let out a slow breath.

"This system is a damn cheat code," he muttered.

With his financial infrastructure secured, he moved to the next critical step:

Buying up as much Bitcoin as humanly possible.

In 2010, Bitcoin wasn't easy to buy.

There were no centralized exchanges like Coinbase or Binance. Instead, transactions happened in underground tech forums, where a handful of enthusiasts bought and sold BTC like digital baseball cards.

Thomas quickly navigated to Bitcointalk.org, one of the earliest forums dedicated to Bitcoin.

His fingers flew across the keyboard as he drafted a post:

> Buying Bitcoin in bulk. Paying $0.01 per BTC.

Instant payment. No hassle. Let's trade.

For good measure, he spent $10 to pin the post to the top of the forum.

Then, he waited.

And waited.

Nothing.

Minutes stretched into an hour with no responses.

Thomas's jaw tightened. He knew this wouldn't be instant, but he had assumed people would jump at free money.

Just as doubt started creeping in—

Ping!

A notification flashed on his screen.

Someone had responded.

Then another.

And another.

Bitcoin holders started initiating transactions one by one.

100 BTC.

200 BTC.

500 BTC.

Each time he accepted a trade, his digital wallet balance grew.

By midnight, he had secured over 50,000 BTC.

Then—

A game-changing offer popped up.

> User: BTCMax

"I have 10,000 BTC. Let's deal."

Thomas's heartbeat spiked.

10,000 BTC at $0.01 each? That was just $100.

He didn't hesitate.

Transaction complete. Wallet balance: 60,000 BTC.

Then came another offer.

20,000 BTC.

Then 25,000 BTC.

His wallet balance skyrocketed with each trade.

By the early hours of the morning, he had secured over 158,000 BTC.

If Bitcoin reached its all-time high in the future, that would be worth billions.

He was on top of the world.

Then—everything changed.

Just as he was about to finalize a few more transactions, the flow of Bitcoin suddenly dried up.

For nearly an hour, no new offers appeared.

A sinking feeling crept into Thomas's gut. Something was off.

He refreshed the forum.

That's when he saw it.

A new buyer had appeared.

And they were offering $0.02 per BTC.

Thomas's grip on the mouse tightened.

Someone was competing with him.

Another investor? An early adopter?

The thought sent a chill down his spine.

Whoever it was, they were forcing prices up.

But Thomas had way more money to burn.

Without hesitation, he raised his bid.

> New price: $0.03 per BTC.

Within minutes, his competitor matched him.

Annoyed, Thomas clicked on their profile.

The account was newly created.

Someone had just jumped in, specifically to compete with him.

A slow smirk spread across his face.

"Alright. Let's see how badly you want this."

He doubled his offer.

> New price: $0.10 per BTC.

Silence.

Then—

A massive trade request appeared.

50,000 BTC.

Thomas hit accept immediately.

And just like that, the rival vanished.

Somewhere across the ocean, a young tech geek sat at his computer, staring at his screen in shock.

"Shit," the kid muttered, rubbing his face. "I just made $4,000 in profit… but did I just screw myself?"

He had no idea that he had just sold millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin for pennies.

Thomas leaned back, satisfied.

"Good game, kid," he muttered.

Because in a few years?

That kid would be crying.

Final Preparations

By the time the 24-hour window neared its end, Thomas had secured over 200,000 BTC.

His job here was done.

Now, it was time for the final step.

He activated his second time-travel charge.

> "Set destination: December 4, 2024, 1:00 AM."

Ding!

> Timeline confirmed. Initiating time travel process…

A powerful force gripped his body as dizziness overwhelmed him.

Then—darkness.

And when he opened his eyes again—

It was December 4, 2024.

Bitcoin was about to hit $100,800 per coin.

And Thomas Blackwell was about to become a legend.