The Bitcoin bet that wiped out our $60,000 and nearly broke my marriage

Perhaps I will never forget the sound of my wife’s sigh last night. One sigh that made the world feel like it was crumbling on my shoulders. My wife and I started with nothing. Every penny we saved was earned through sweat, days of skipping meals, and carefully collecting each note, afraid it would slip away.

Then I discovered Bitcoin. I saw others getting rich, with the market’s ups and downs resembling a fleeting promise of a better life. I believed in it and convinced my wife to join me.

We pooled all the money we had saved over the years to buy cryptocurrencies. It was not enough, so I borrowed more. I told my wife: "Trust me, and we’ll change our lives..." But after one year, Bitcoin plummeted, taking down the altcoins I had bought early on. There were times when they were four times more valuable, but driven by the fear of missing out, I did not sell a single one. My account, once holding $60,000, now only shows $12,000, a sum that feels painfully insignificant.

A person holds a coin with Bitcoin logo. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Lam

Creditors call every day, and each ring of the phone tightens my chest. Text messages flood in, and on the other end of the line, I can almost hear the unspoken words: "When will you pay?"

When our parents checked in on our financial situation, I panicked and lied: "We’re fine, the money is still there, and this is a long-term investment, fluctuations are normal." But the truth is, every night, I curl up in the dark, my hands shaking as I check the account balance, a habit formed by desperation.

I look over at my wife, sitting quietly with tired eyes. She does not blame me, does not yell, just stays silent. I know she has cried alone many times. She cried because she trusted a husband who was not wise enough. She cried because she feared the creditors would show up at our door. She cried because the future now seemed as bleak as the downward trend in the market I kept watching.

Last night, she asked me: "What do we do now, love?" I didn’t know what to answer her. All I could do was hold her tightly, my hands trembling. Not because I was scared of Bitcoin falling further, but because I feared losing the woman who had stood by me through the best of times, only to be pulled into a storm by my foolishness.

If only I had been more clear-headed. If only I had stopped sooner. If only I had known how to protect my family instead of chasing after quick dreams of wealth. Now, every time I open my account and see the $12,000, I realize that it is not just the money that is gone, but the trust of the person I love most. And perhaps, that is the hardest loss to bear.

*Readers' opinions are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress' viewpoints.