In the rough and tumble world of cryptocurrency, fortunes can be made and lost in the blink of an eye.
One of the fortunes being made appears to belong to teenager Samuel Snell, who proclaims himself a millionaire thanks to the unregulated digital currency.
Snell, from Australia, says he was bullied at school but now lives a lavish lifestyle thanks to trading in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency.
He co-founded ‘Crypto Gods’, a private community teaching others to get rich with crypto. According to Snell, the community boasts 3,000 members and is the ‘biggest private crypto group in Australia’.
In an apparant need to prove his worth, Snell can be found posting videos to his TikTok account with captions like ‘Day in the life of a Teenage Crypto Millionaire’.
In one such episode, he opens up his laptop to show his earnings for the night: AU$13,000 (£7k) while he was sleeping.
That’s not all. Samuel is happy to film his extravagences, like a pair of Mercedes Benz cars and a diamond Rolex watch.
In one video Sam says: ‘I started in 2014 and my teachers were saying “stop wasting time with crypto” I now own the biggest crypto group making people money.’
Of course, with videos like this, there are bound to be the haters.
One commenter, not convinced by our hero’s claims, urges him to show a step-by-step guide on which investments he makes.
A comment under his video reads: ‘If this dude cared about making you rich for real, he would share his portfolio with you.’
Should you invest in cryptocurrency?
Ah, the 64,000 Bitcoin question.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other kind of unregulated digital currency isn’t something to be taken lightly. On one hand, you could make out like a bandit – or you could lose it all.
Regardless, anyone looking to try investment or trading needs to be wary of where they get their information from.
The rise of online communities can be a double-edged sword as ‘finfluencers’ – like our friend Samuel above – attempt to sway people towards unrealistic outcomes.
‘Investment advice is activity that is legally regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority of the UK. There are hundreds of people and multiple departments in FCA that study current products and create rules in order to protect ordinary people from making wrong financial decisions,’ Galina Stavskaya, Head of Investments at Claro Money, told Metro.co.uk.
‘Firms and individuals must not only go through a strict due diligence process in order to get regulated by FCA, but also follow all the rules and regulations that evolve.
‘If you take advice from places like Reddit and YouTube [or TikTok] without checking whether those who provide the advice/recommendation are authorised to do so, you are risking making wrong financial decisions and losing some or all of your money.
‘The rise of ‘finfluencers’ means that the topic of money and investments is more accessible and mainstream, which is positive. However, self-proclaimed experts on the likes of Reddit and YouTube can offer advice which is not regulated or supported by any form of expertise or qualification.
‘Often, those sharing advice on these channels are promoting risky trading on the likes of Bitcoin, which is not appropriate for all users. What works for some, doesn’t for others and it’s important that people seek coaching and guidance from credible experts that have knowledge beyond their own experiences.
‘What’s more, it’s easy to read a single post or watch a quick video from someone you can relate to, and that is easy to understand, and make an investment decision based on this.
‘However, it’s important to look at the wider picture and consider the context of the advice, how this actually relates to your financial position, and what regulated bodies as well as financial advisors or coaches think of this specific piece of advice.’
So there you go, perhaps consider asking Samuel, or any other Teenage Crypto Millionaire to show their FCA accreditation before accepting their investment advice.
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