A FORMER NAVY officer turned a $2,000 cryptocurrency investment into $1million, allowing him to buy his dream home.

Terrance J Leonard, who now works as a software engineer and lives in Washington D.C, admitted that at first he thought the cryptocurrency markets were the “Wild West” after a colleague explained the ins and outs over lunch.

Leonard said: “I first became aware of cryptocurrency in 2013.

“I tried to get involved but I didn’t have the resources and I was very nervous about losing money.”

Leonard first invested $2,000 in 2019 and cashed out at $401,000 before reinvesting it into other cryptocurrency.

Leonard didn’t specify which cryptocurrencies he has invested in but “I don’t invest heavily into Bitcoin” which he sees as “being what MySpace was to social media.”

“Instead I choose to invest in cryptocurrencies that I think will have real world value and that are environmentally friendly,” he added.

In March 2020 “there were a series of days where I was refreshing the app that I use to track my investments and I was seeing the value of my coins skyrocket.”

In April 2021 his investments hit $1million.

He was then able to buy the house of his dreams by selling $50,000 of his cryptocurrency to use as a down payment on the $650,000 property.

Leonard said: “I wasn’t really ready at the time to liquidate as much crypto as I did because I knew its value had the potential to increase.

“I actually lost money going through the process, but I wanted the house so I wasn’t bothered.”

The four-bedroom, three-bathroom property in southeast Washington D.C has a garage and big back yard.

He said: “Being able to get this house is huge.

“As soon as I saw it, I wanted to put an offer in.

“Investing in cryptocurrency has changed my life tremendously because it has helped me achieve that.

“Now, I am able to have an incredible home and the life comforts I want.”