Years ago, a Norwegian student named Kristoffer Koch unknowingly set himself up for a life-changing fortune by investing in Bitcoin for a class assignment.

Back in 2009, Koch, then 25, read Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper on Bitcoin and decided to experiment with the concept. Despite not fully understanding it, he purchased around 5,000 Bitcoins for roughly $22 to $27.

At the time, Bitcoin was a fringe digital experiment, and the only thing Koch could imagine buying with it was alpaca socks. He soon forgot about the purchase and moved on with life.

Koch later admitted that he hadn’t seriously considered cryptocurrency as a usable investment, especially since the market was so limited in those early days.

According to Binance Feed, Koch ignored his digital wallet for years, choosing instead to focus on getting a stable job and building his career outside of crypto.

But in 2013, when Bitcoin’s value began to surge in headlines, Koch remembered his forgotten investment and checked the account.

To his disbelief, those 5,000 Bitcoins were now worth about $850,000, a stunning return for a small, forgotten gamble.

He later told local media that he never dreamed the value would skyrocket as it did. Koch marveled at how people assign value to something as intangible as digital coins.

One obstacle remained: locating the password to access his encrypted Bitcoin wallet. Like many, he struggled to recall the code after so many years—but eventually succeeded.

After unlocking the wallet, Koch sold one-fifth of his Bitcoin holdings. Even after paying taxes, the profit was enough to buy a luxurious apartment in Oslo.

If he retained the remaining 4,000 Bitcoins, their current value could place him at around $475 million, showing just how incredible this early investment was.