Glauber Contessoto took a big risk on dogecoin, a meme-inspired cryptocurrency that began as a joke, earlier this year.
Between his savings and borrowed funds, Contessoto says that he invested over $250,000 in dogecoin on February 5 when it was priced at about 4.5 cents. About two months later, on April 15, he says he became a dogecoin millionaire on paper.
Since, Contessoto has refused to sell, despite dogecoin's ups and downs. He plans to buy more of the digital coin and "hodl" for the long haul.
Contessoto believes in dogecoin so much that he now requests to be paid in it whenever he works with crypto brands on social media promotions.
Contessoto will earn a total of $25,000 for an upcoming partnership between his YouTube channel and blockchain project Acria Network, he tells CNBC Make It. When finalizing the deal, the company asked if he'd prefer to be paid in U.S. dollars or crypto.
"Of course, I said dogecoin," he says. "So, they literally paid me in dogecoin. They gave me half upfront, and the other half when I deliver the video."
To keep up with his growing "dogecoin millionaire" brand online, Contessoto also quit his day job at a music company in Los Angeles in June. "I had no idea how I was going to make money moving forward," he says.
He earns a little bit of money from selling merch on his website, but his main focus is developing his social media presence.
In one month, he has made $28,000 from social media ads and promotions, which was primarily paid out in dogecoin. "That's about six months salary at my old job," Contessoto says.
After covering all of his bills, including rent, food and other expenses, Contessoto plans to continue to invest as much as he can in dogecoin. Though experts warn against it, "[I'm] all invested in doge," Contessoto says. "Doge is my savings account."
As of around 12:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, his dogecoin holdings are worth around $931,689.
Dogecoin is trading at around 23 cents as of 4:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, according to CoinMarketCap. But, "if it drops below 20 cents next week, I'll buy the dip again," Contessoto says. After hitting a record high on May 8 of around 73 cents, the digital coin fell to around 47 cents on May 9, and Contessoto invested another $17,500, he previously said.
However, financial experts are highly skeptical of dogecoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies. Their extreme volatility is one reason why experts warn that it's a risky, speculative investment.
And some warn to be especially cautious when investing in dogecoin in particular, since it lacks the scarcity and technological development that bitcoin has, for example. Investors could get burned, and in turn, should only invest what they can afford to lose.
"You risk losing nearly all the money you put in," James Ledbetter, editor of fintech newsletter FIN and CNBC contributor, previously told CNBC Make It. "It has no intrinsic value and it could just as easily come crashing down in price as continue to go up."
Still, Contessoto's outlook on dogecoin remains extremely bullish. Depending on what happens in the coming months, he believes the price could rise. He's hopeful it will hit $1 by the end of the year.
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