Chapter 4: Future of Bitcoin or Speculating?

Looking around, the architecture was still familiar, yet everything looked a little "newer" than it did before he traveled back in time. In addition to this, many of the shop names on the street were different. The street lights were an older generation, not the modern ones he was used to. The road surface looked a bit worn, and the trees lining the road seemed a little 'slimmer' or younger. Observing these details, Ye Chen couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

"It really worked... I've traveled through time..."

"Time is tight; I need to act fast..."

Thinking of this, Ye Chen carried his laptop bag and walked straight to a nearby hotel. When he arrived, he booked a room. After settling into the guest room, Ye Chen took out his notebook, opened it, and was pleasantly surprised.

"Damn, this system is so thoughtful! It even provides internet connectivity..."

With this in mind, Ye Chen began to log in to overseas websites and register accounts. After a series of operations, he suddenly realized he didn't even need to go to a bank; the system also enabled an overseas payment function. Ye Chen, noticing this, was immediately overjoyed. He then posted messages about acquiring Bitcoin on various Bitcoin forums, both large and small. At the same time, he also spent $10 to pin his posts for better visibility.

Time passed, and at first, Ye Chen's posts received no response. But an hour later, replies started coming in. One Bitcoin enthusiast after another initiated transactions with Ye Chen. It was no surprise, as Ye Chen's offered price of $0.01 per Bitcoin was quite attractive. This was considered a sky-high price at that moment, especially since Bitcoin's value had plummeted due to the recently exposed protocol vulnerability. Offers came in for 100 Bitcoins, then 200, then 1,000. With repeated transactions, Ye Chen accumulated more and more Bitcoins.

As time went on, Ye Chen finally made three large-scale transactions: one for 10,000, another for 20,000, and a third for 25,000 Bitcoins. After that, the large transactions dwindled back to smaller, sporadic ones. This situation was within Ye Chen's expectations, and he didn't have any particular reaction. After all, it was impossible for every Bitcoin owner to see his posts.

Time continued to pass, and Ye Chen waited patiently. During this period, he went out for lunch and then returned to continue monitoring the forums. The transaction speed was getting slower and slower, but Ye Chen remained very patient. What he didn't know was that his aggressive acquisition of Bitcoin had attracted the attention of another buyer. It's unclear what their intentions were, but they suddenly began to mimic Ye Chen's strategy, also starting to acquire Bitcoin.

At first, Ye Chen didn't notice. It wasn't until an hour had passed without a single transaction request that he sensed something was amiss. After clicking on an overseas forum and Browse for a while, Ye Chen realized that a competitor had indeed appeared, offering $0.02 per Bitcoin. Ye Chen, upon noticing this, unhesitatingly raised his offer to $0.03. For Ye Chen, every extra Bitcoin he could buy now was incredibly valuable, as each Bitcoin could eventually be worth nearly $20,000.

What's more, with the support of his wealth system, his income of one yuan per second was equivalent to about $0.15 USD per second. As long as the quantities weren't astronomically large, Ye Chen wasn't worried about being unable to afford them. Ye Chen's price increase quickly caught the attention of the competitor who was following his lead. In less than two minutes, the other party also raised their price.

"Did this competitor genuinely foresee the future of Bitcoin, or are they purely speculating?"

Ye Chen wondered. After considering it, Ye Chen posted a very rude message, directly taunting the competitor who was trying to snatch his business:

"If you've got the guts, keep following, you amateur!"

As soon as the post was up, Ye Chen then decisively increased his offered price for Bitcoin to $0.10. In less than a minute, he received a transaction request—for a direct sale of 50,000 Bitcoins. The competitor who had been trying to acquire Bitcoin disappeared this time. This discovery gave Ye Chen pause for thought.

"Damn it, could it be that foreigner who just sold me 50,000 Bitcoins... the very one who was trying to rob my business...?"

On the other side of the ocean, a young man with blond hair and a pimply face, who at first glance looked like an otaku, snapped his fingers at his computer screen.

"Shit, this person really bought them! Hahaha, I made an easy $4,000! Struck it rich!"