Finman cashed out his first bitcoin investment back in and started Botangle, an online education company that provides tools for locating instructors in subjects they need or wish to learn about.

Read: All the digital money in the world in one chart

He wasn’t a fan of high school and convinced his parents, both Ph.D.’s, to let him drop out at

His teachers clearly weren’t seeing his potential. “One teacher told me to drop out and work at McDonald’s because that was all I would amount to for the rest of my life. I guess I did the dropout part,” the young bitcoin millionaire said. He didn’t really want to go to college, either, and won a bet with his parents that if he was worth a million dollars by 18, he could skip it. He was, and so he did.

Check out: How big is bitcoin, really? This chart puts it all in perspective

Finman encountered discouragement from an Uber executive, who, instead of listening to his Botangle pitch, told him he should count on college rather than racking up millions. But the teen did end up successfully selling his company’s technology, for a cool price of bitcoin, reportedly. He has said he took that offer over an alternative $,

Read: Uber CEO Travis Kalanick steps down after shareholder revolt

Bitcoin prices have soared more than % in the span of a year, with the bulk of the gain coming during May and June. Ethereum, one of its chief rivals, has also seen big gains. Bitcoin tapped $3, last week, before a pullback last week that saw it shed billions in market cap.

Read: Nvidia upgraded as cybercurrency miners go bonkers for its chips

Plus:Bitcoin needs government regulation to rise further, Morgan Stanley says