‘Crypto queen’ Sydel Sierra shares how she retired at the age of 30
She turned $980 into $110k and two years later retired at the age of 30. Now this Gold Coast mum-to-be says it’s not too late to join the millionaire’s club. SEE HOW
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It’s just a typical week for Sydel Sierra.
Fly first-class to Melbourne, charter a helicopter to the F1 circuit, where she will take her seat in a premium suite, and ponder which multimillion-dollar property to purchase on the Gold Coast.
Meanwhile, her own Aston Martin is back at her Hinterland mansion with her other luxury vehicles, although that five-star Mount Tamborine retreat is currently under contract for sale, with the almost six-month pregnant mother-to-be preparing to build a new nest closer to the Coast.
Life is sweet for the 35-year-old Ms Sierra, who retired at the ripe old age of 30 after making a killing in cryptocurrency.
Dubbed the ‘crypto queen’, the Gold Coast resident said her mission was to help others, especially women, find their own financial independence. And she said there was no better time than right now, with what she calls an ‘unprecedented bull market’ about to begin.
While crypto enthusiasts are renowned for their eternal optimism about the digital market, Ms Sierra walks the talk.
As an average income earner working in small business in her hometown of Perth, Ms Sierra attended an entrepreneurship camp in Europe in 2016 where she first learned about cryptocurrencies.
A few months later, she made her first foray into digital currencies.
“I was in my mid 20s and working a job that barely paid $1000 per week – I was hearing a lot about cryptocurrency, just like everyone else, and thought, ‘well, I’ve got $900 here, why not?’ I put it all in a couple of cryptos, one of which was Neo,” said Ms Sierra, who has lived on the Gold Coast for almost five years.
“90 days later, it was worth $110,000 and it changed my life forever.”
Eventually Ms Sierra cashed out and purchased 26 Bitcoins and through successive investments, including a few losses, ended up a multi-millionaire who could more than quit her day job.
Along with brother Aden Michielsen, she now runs the Digital Wealth Group, which aims to educate and guide those interested in investing in crypto.
Because, as Ms Sierra is well aware, the path to prosperity can all too easily become the road to ruin.
While she’s made millions, it’s no secret that thousands of crypto investors have come a-cropper, falling victim to scams, simple greed or sheer lack of understanding.
“Crypto returns are on steroids compared to ‘normal’ investments like shares or property, but you should still have a solid strategy, realistic expectations and be prepared for the long game. It’s just the crypto long game can be two to five years, not 25 years,” she said.
“The biggest downfalls I’ve seen are when people don’t do their due diligence and put everything into a scam like so many ICOs (initial coin offerings) were. That’s what we call a rug-pull and it does happen, but if you know how to be discerning that won’t happen.
“Another big issue is greed. You should have a master vision: is your goal to pay off your house? To retire? To travel? It’s okay to have big goals but they need to be concrete, not parking your Lamborghini on the moon, because you need to know when it’s time to sell.
“The last big issue is people who get into trading without full knowledge. That’s where people really get wrecked.
“That’s why I work to educate people, it’s not that hard to do crypto right – but it’s also very easy to get it wrong. I’ve set my life up and I want to help others achieve that too, especially young people who can’t break into the property market or even really the share market.
“Crypto lets you start with a few thousand and, with the right moves, it really can become millions.”
Ms Sierra said while that volatility was unsettling for some, it was the price paid for the possibility of big gains.
She said it was not unusual for investors to make 1000 per cent gains, or even 6000 per cent, and later this year was looking likely for precisely that kind of bull run.
“The key is to ride the volatility. Don’t invest more than you can afford and just hold on, nothing goes up forever but when it goes up, it goes up fast,” she said.
“Later this year and early 2025 is looking like an unbelievable bull market.
“Right now we’re in the pre-bull market phase which means there’s a good window of opportunity to get in before it takes off.
“There are handfuls of very good cryptos that are very undervalued. People think if they didn’t invest in 2013 they missed the boat, but that’s absolutely not true. Look at me, I started in 2017. The next big jump is going to make a whole new crop of millionaires.
“For the first time we’ll see the institution-fuelled market meet the retail market of mum and dad investors, it’s going to be one of the most unprecedented bull markets.
“I encourage people to at least get some skin in the game. Even if it’s just $1000, get in it.”
Ms Sierra said the Gold Coast was an Australian epicentre when it came to crypto investors.
She said while that wasn’t the reason she chose to move here, it was certainly part of the allure when it came to meeting like-minded people.
However, as a woman – and a pregnant mum-to-be at that, she said she was also trying to change the face of crypto as a bros-only zone.
“You don’t have to be a young guy with a baseball cap and a YouTube channel to be part of this, to me this is investment for the people,” she said.
“I teach 80-year-olds, I teach single mothers, I teach teens … anyone who is looking for a plan B or a step up.
“It’s really not that scary, you can start with just a little exposure. I know when I began I was so nervous but it changed my life.
“It gave me the freedom to live wherever I wanted and do whatever I wanted – and what I wanted was to live on the Gold Coast. I just love the lifestyle. It has all the benefits of a city without feeling like a city.
“It’s also the perfect place to raise my child, although that’s why I’m moving from Mount Tamborine, I just want to be a bit closer. I’ve been looking at properties in Burleigh, it’s an amazing place.”
Ms Sierra said while she has full confidence in crypto, she also knows it’s serious business providing education and advice.
She said she would not pitch ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes but a slow and steady approach to digital currency investment.
“It’s all relative, of course. Slow and steady in crypto is lightning speed everywhere else. I don’t encourage get-rich-quick, but the truth is crypto can still be get-rich-very-fast,” she laughed.
“But there is no crystal ball, I’ve had losses before. You just have to hedge your bets, and I always bet on the cycles, what goes down will go up … and vice versa.
“I don’t recommend trading, just have your strategy and make your investments and let the market do the heavy lifting.
“Don’t be crippled by fear either. I’ve seen people sit on the sideline because they got cold feet and I think back to where they would be now based on what they were going to invest in … and I hope they haven’t done the calculations because they would kick themselves.
“I’ve seen that happen three times now. You can never fully remove the risk but you can definitely play it safe by starting small.”
Ms Sierra said she had already witnessed more than 50 of her clients become crypto multi-millionaires, with $2 million or more in crypto wealth.
But she said her proudest achievement was seeing women achieve financial freedom.
“One single mother I helped turned $11,000 into $130,000 in less than a year, she bought a new car with cash and now has $100,000 in savings – it has literally changed her life,” she said.
“I think the idea of having an investment portfolio is not necessarily something most women have written on their goals list, but it should be.
“Building independent wealth is so important. The best aspect of my lifestyle now is the freedom that I have.
“Don’t get me wrong, I also enjoy the properties, sports cars and travel, but freedom is priceless.”
While she waits for the completion of her Mount Tamborine sale and shops around beachside for her next mansion, Ms Sierra said her favourite property purchase of all was not even her own.
“I helped mum and dad invest in crypto, and one day they walked into a bank with a cheque and paid off everything,” she said.
It’s not quite a day at the F1, but for Ms Sierra, that was the best moment of all.
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