Experience: I made $1m on bitcoin – and lost it again

I got caught up in the hype. Then the bubble burst

Until 2016, I ran an advertising agency in London. At our peak, we were highly successful; I had a team of 35 people, a 3m turnover and a Covent Garden office. When the agency folded, I decided to invest in bitcoin.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, a type of electronic cash that allows people to spend or trade via a peer-to-peer network without the involvement of banks or other intermediaries. It is a cheap, efficient way of transferring funds or holding value, which can be converted back into sterling at any time. I had used it before to buy treatment online for my mother after she was diagnosed with cancer. I had also dabbled with investing in it in 2013, and made and lost some money: bitcoin is prone to sudden fluctuations in value. But the market seemed to have moved on, and I decided it could be a good way to make some profit on my savings.