Benyamin Ahmed is the creator of the “Strange Whale” NFT collection. (Tom Maddick, via SWNS)
George Mathias via SWNS
A schoolboy who created an NFT worth $5 million has seen the value of his cryptocurrency more than double since Donald Trump's election.
Benjamin Ahmed, 15, was taught coding by his father Imran, 48, when he was five years old, and has since amassed a fortune in cryptocurrencies.
After the election of President Donald Trump, the price of Bitcoin exploded.
This is said to be due to President Trump's appointment of crypto lobbyist Paul Atkins as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a move that gave the green light to highly volatile cryptocurrencies. It is believed that
On Wednesday, the price of Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $103,619 (£81,363), and the president-elect is thought to be a strong supporter of Bitcoin.
The schoolboy hasn't withdrawn a single pound from his fortune, even though the value of his stash has exploded.
It's all tied to a cryptocurrency called Ethereum, which is Bitcoin's rival cryptocurrency.
Mr Benjamin, who has lectured on NFTs at Oxford University, believes this is the future of currency, but vows not to turn it into cash, despite the asset effectively doubling in value. .
Benjamin, who lives in Pinner, Greater London, did not want to reveal the new value, but said: “Since Trump's election, my portfolio is up 56%, but I refuse to liquidate it.'' ”
“I've ridden waves from top to bottom before, and I know it could happen again, but I'm going to ride that wave in the long run.”
The teenage prodigy says he's only in the game to gain skills and experience, so he plans to keep his fortune intact for now.
“He's never sold it. It looks very healthy at the moment,” said his father Imran, a programmer.
“He's been true to his word and it hasn't sold yet. Maybe in five to 10 years it will sell, but he doesn't have that many expenses or living expenses at the moment.”
Photo by Worldspectrum via Pexels
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“My friends at school knew about my work and congratulated me,” said Benjamin.
I don't think everyone understands that!
Benjamin previously made a small fortune trading so-called NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, and released his own series called “Weird Whales” in July 2021.
The 3,350 colorful NFTs depict pixelated whales and were initially sold for $60 each.
However, as demand increased, so did prices, with some of the collection selling for up to $20,000.
His collection of strange whales has been sold for a total of more than $5 million by various buyers.
He receives a royalty-like commission each time they are resold.
“His accountant says it's like a computer game to him and he doesn't know the real value,” Imran said.
Imran said he leaves financial decisions entirely up to his son and is focused on doing his GCSEs at the moment.
“I don't care if he doesn't sell,” Imran said.
“He doesn't need it for anything yet, but he probably will in five years if he wants to start a business.”
Imran said his son closely follows the cryptocurrency market and is able to predict when prices will rise and fall.
Benjamin said he sees a “bright future” in the world of cryptocurrencies.
“I think the digital version will always perform best in any industry,” he says.
“With digital art, there’s a lot more practicality and certification – you can just go online and see where everything comes from.
“Here, anyone can join the network. It makes no difference whether you are a refugee or a rich man sitting in a mansion.
“Everyone has the same rights and permissions as everyone else.”
Benjamin Ahmed is a 12-year-old cryptocurrency expert whose NFTs have traded for over $5 million. (Tom Maddick, via SWNS)
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Despite his coding genius, Benjamin says he's not glued to a screen all day.
“I don't take my phone with me to school or to my bedroom, so I have a lot of downtime,” he says.
“School is really good and I never get bored. Of course I like math and computers, but I also love history and Latin.
“After school, I typically spend a few hours doing homework, then return to Twitter and Discord to connect with Weird Whales and the NFT community.
“My daily routine consists of completing one coding exercise, reading a few pages, and working on a math assignment online.
“I’ve been doing this religiously with my brothers for a while.
“I go to taekwondo on Friday night. It's always hard because it's the end of the week, but it's fun.”
Despite his continued success, Benjamin remains humble and Imran becomes more proud of him each day.
He said: “That’s what Benjamin does every day and it’s a passion for him.
“I've always said that if you do something that interests you, you'll never have to work for the rest of your life.
“I’m really glad he took that advice.”
