FOMO

Benji sits in Oslo Coffee Roasters in deep thought. He just sits there and stares out the glass door as the people who live in the buildings nearby pass in and out. In and out. In and out. What time is it? How many cups has he had?

All trivial.

The real question on Benji's mind on this lovely spring Saturday is equally simple, but much more high stakes: should he plunge his entire life savings into Bitcoin?

Benji is not good with money, never has been. He wasn't bad with money, just not good with it. He didn't live above his means or spend recklessly, but he also didn't invest. So there the money sat accruing whatever interest his banks were willing to give him. He was playing it safe.

It didn't help matters. that he has seen a lot of his male 30-something counterparts make a fortune in crypto. Ever since 2016, they spoke of nothing else. They became crypto bros. Naturally, the murmurs transform into an uproar when the price is going up.

Back in 2016, he couldn't be bothered. He had seen many fads in the financial markets. Remember when 3-D printers were going to change the world? Remember when weed was going to be smoked by everyone in the world at all times? Nonsense. These were trades, not investments. Fast forward to 2024, 3-D printing businesses and weed companies are nowhere to be found. But bitcoin has stuck around. And it’s now three times higher than its so-called bubble peak in 2016! Hence the blank stare on Benji's face out of the Oslo. He had simply missed the opportunity of a lifetime, or had he?

If Bitcoin has survived this far, it is becoming more and more unlikely that it is going away anytime soon. And now there are a lot of publicly traded companies that specialize in one segment of it or another. More money means lobbyists, and lobbyists mean staying power. And even if he’s 7 years behind the true pioneers, he’s probably still ahead of the curve compared to the rest of the world. Like really far ahead, right? 

Suddenly, Benji's heart skips a beat. A woman, quite possibly the most adorable he’s ever seen, walks into the coffee shop. How many people had trafficked in and out since Benji first sat down? How many others had passed by his view from the window? And this is the first one who’s managed to break his concentration.

She walks past his seat and orders a coffee at the counter behind him. Benji pretends to look at his laptop. Bitcoin has gone up 100 dollars in the past minute. Of course, it has. The woman gets her coffee and sits at a table to his left where she proceeds to look at her phone.

Normally Benji is not one to do anything in a situation like this. Who is he to impose? But something feels different today. He is reminded of the three-second rule his friends, the crypto bros, have told him. You have three seconds to make a move, or you never will.

One Mississippi, two Mississippi...

"Hey, you mind if I ask you a question?" asks Benji from his seat, shots of adrenaline coursing through his veins. Or is that just all the caffeine?

She looks up from her phone with a smile, good sign!

"Yeah, of course, what's up?"

"It's kind of a weird question but how much do you know about Bitcoin?" Slayyyyyyy.

She breaks out into a laugh. "Not much, but my boyfriend won't shut up about it." Heart sunk. 

"Yeah, boyfriends are good like that. Thank you for your time." Benji diverts his focus back to his laptop. Surely, he can't keep staring out blankly at the door.

A few minutes later a tall, rather handsome man walks into Oslo. He gallantly struts down the aisle, approaches the most adorable woman in the world, bends forward, and kisses her. He then takes a seat on the chair across from her.

Benji has his answer, no more playing it safe. No risk it, no biscuit, no adorable woman. With the swift click of a button, he plunges his life savings into Bitcoin. He shuts his laptop, stows it in its case, and struts out of Oslo Coffee Roasters with his head held high.