- With calculated and tenacious investing amid market downturns, Cooper Turley turned his early modest Bitcoin and Ether investments into a substantial fortune.
- Turley paid off his undergraduate debt and pushed his family to invest, which greatly reduced their mortgage, using his bitcoin profits to achieve personal financial freedom.
For University of Colorado Denver music business student Cooper Turley, it all began in a little dorm room. Cooper started what would turn into a life-changing adventure into the realm of cryptocurrencies with a curious mind and a limited budget. There were very few digital currencies seven years ago.
Trading at over $2,000 was Bitcoin, the first and most well-known cryptocurrency. Ether (ETH), a less well-known but potential cryptocurrency based on the Ethereum network, was only a few hundred dollars. Cooper gathered up what money he could spare, investing in both, knowing that these numbers might grow.
The Beginning of Cooper Turley’s Story
Cooper knew very little about Bitcoin at the time. There was promise, he realized, but the details were hazy shadows in his mind. However, this did not deter him. He says:
“I was only putting a couple hundred dollars in, here and there.”
Though little at first, his investments set the stage for a large wealth. Thinking back to his modest beginnings, he said, “It was not a lot at all,” concerning his early investing ventures.
A Blockchain-Music Vision
The actual sea change occurred in 2017 while he was studying. Cooper found out how the Ethereum blockchain might completely change the music business, which connected with his academic interests. Using smart contracts to guarantee artists have greater control over their music, the blockchain might speed up royalties payments straight to producers.
This understanding piqued a greater curiosity in the technology. Determining to carve out a place for himself in this growing sector, he remarked, “From there, I fell down this rabbit hole of being fascinated by how the technology works.”
2018 saw Cooper graduate with a big test on his investments. Ether’s and Bitcoin’s values had just dropped precipitously. Cooper said, “I saw my net worth basically come crashing down.”
When many investors pulled back at this time, he doubled down and concentrated mostly on Ether when its price was around $100. Cooper sensed an opportunity, even if the popular opinion of cryptocurrencies was negative at the time of his audacious plan.
Frontier of DeFi
His tenacity was rewarded when DeFi, or decentralized finance, emerged. Cooper threw himself into this new industry, lending his digital tokens and participating in yield farming, a tricky and dangerous practice of borrowing and lending cryptocurrency. In 2018, he said:
“I saw this turning point where [Ethereum] was a shift away from speculation to actually building usable products.”
Cooper’s career reached a turning point with DeFi Summer and Beyond 2020, which also happened to be the year of the “DeFi Summer” phenomenon.
With billions of dollars pouring into the industry during this time, DeFi technology saw a boom, and investor interest followed suit. Cooper had the busiest time of his career over these few months, which cemented his reputation as an experienced investor.
Infinite Functions in Crypto
Cooper Turley currently resides in Los Angeles and works as a crypto strategy specialist for the Ethereum-based streaming service Audius. Along with being an angel investor, he advises Variant Fund and has worked on more than 50 cryptocurrency companies.
As he muses on his path, Cooper makes light of his many positions: “It’s a running joke at this point that I have an infinite number of jobs in crypto.”
Developing the Next Generation
Cooper’s accomplishments have even motivated his family. At first dubious, his parents made a thousand-dollar investment when they witnessed his enthusiasm and achievement. Their mortgage was mostly paid off when this investment increased dramatically.
More personally, Cooper says it was a liberating decision to pay off the majority of his student loan debt using his BTC profits. “Being able to do genuinely cool stuff in the world is just the beginning, not the end state,” he muses.
Cooper is cautious, even with his positive prediction for the future of cryptocurrency. Experts continuously caution about the possibility of a complete loss in the crypto market, which is renowned for its volatility.
Even though Cooper had great financial success, his tale should serve as a warning about the benefits and drawbacks of entering the world of digital currency.
