From Forgotten Classroom Project to Bitcoin Billionaire: The Unbelievable Journey of Kristoffer Koch
What started as a modest class assignment turned into a life-altering fortune for Kristoffer Koch—a man who nearly lost millions simply because he forgot about them.
In 2009, as a curious 25-year-old student, Koch dived into the emerging world of cryptocurrencies for a school project.
Fascinated by Bitcoin’s groundbreaking whitepaper from the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, he decided to invest a tiny sum—just about $27—buying 5,000 Bitcoin tokens when they were barely worth anything.
At the time, Koch barely imagined the significance of his purchase. He joked that the only thing he could buy with Bitcoin back then was “alpaca socks.” With little practical use and a busy life ahead, he tucked away the crypto, alongside countless forgotten passwords, and moved on.
Years slipped by. Bitcoin slowly climbed from obscurity to global sensation—but Koch didn’t keep up with the hype. Then, out of curiosity, he decided to check his old crypto wallet. What he discovered stunned him: those seemingly worthless coins were now worth roughly $850,000.
In 2013, he cashed out a portion—just 20% of his stash—and used the money to buy a luxury apartment in Oslo. The rest? Left untouched, those Bitcoins have since ballooned to an estimated value approaching $475 million, with some estimates putting his total net worth near $600 million—an astronomical return of over 22 million percent.
Koch recalls how difficult it was to remember his encrypted wallet password—a fitting metaphor for how disconnected he had become from this tiny gamble that completely transformed his future.
From a forgotten academic experiment to one of Bitcoin’s most legendary success stories, Kristoffer Koch’s journey highlights the unpredictable power of emerging tech and the rewards of patient, long-term thinking.
Today, Koch isn’t just a millionaire—he’s a living testament to how even the smallest, overlooked choices can explode into extraordinary fortunes. His story is a reminder that sometimes, the greatest wins come not from calculated risks, but from curiosity and the chance encounters with innovation that the future holds.