Britain’s first ‘Bitcoin Baby’ earns £3,000 in just TWO WEEKS thanks to crypto-donations
AN ADORABLE newspaper ad asking for Bitcoin donations toward a newborn baby's university fund has clocked up a staggering £3,000 in just two weeks.
More than 300 people have chipped in with anonymous crypto-donations for baby Izabella Bowles after Dad Peter placed a clever announcement in The Times.
Friends, family and strangers sent Bitcoin – a digital currency that only exists online – from as far as Sydney, Australia, with individual donations ranging from 30p to £300.
They were gifted via a special Bitcoin digital address included in the ad, which appeared in The Times appointments section on Saturday 12 January, 2019.
It read: “Bitcoin Baby: On 6th January 2019 to Wioletta (née Witek) and Peter, a daughter, Izabella Anna Bowles, sister to Philip. Weighed 2.2kg. Bitcoin College fund: 1ZAB5XeKMdvax2S8eZT7GQ6Nj4xjbsw1Y”.
Peter explained: “We wanted to set-up an unconventional way to save up for her Student Fees in 2037 and I’m a big believer that the scarcity of Bitcoin makes it great fund for that.
"Hopefully the community will see this as yet another sign that the digital currency is going mainstream and will support her, too.”
Izabella has amassed 1.087 Bitcoin (about £2,990) from 331 donors at the time of publishing.
It will remain in a digital Bitcoin "wallet" until she is old enough to attend university.
The fund won't gather interest in that time, but if the value of the volatile virtual currency returns to the highs of January last year, it could be worth well over £16,000.
Izabella won't be old enough for a university degree until 2037, and it's anybody's guess what courses will cost by then.
Currently, the going rate for a three-year Bachelor's degree is about £10,000.
Bitcoin crashed a number of times last year, sometimes wiping billions from its value in mere minutes.
TOP STORIES IN TECH
The dips led New York crypto genius Erik Finman to brand Bitcoin ‘dead’, despite making millions from the currency.
But it's not all doom and gloom for the virtual cash – one expert predicts Premier League transfers will soon be completed via Bitcoin.
How much do you think Izabella's crypto fund will make? Let us know in the comments!
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.