Glauber Contessoto says that he invested over $250,000 in dogecoin on Feb. 5 with a belief that he’d become a millionaire — and on April 15, he did.

But on Monday, the top cryptocurrencies by market value — including bitcoin, ether and dogecoin — started to crash following news of a crackdown in China, CNBC reported.

With losses extending on Tuesday, Contessoto’s portfolio, which contains only dogecoin, was hit. His holdings are down over $167,000 on Tuesday alone, he tells CNBC Make It, and his portfolio was worth $831,538.88 as of Tuesday at 4:40 p.m. EST, he says.

“Up until yesterday, I had been a millionaire,” Contessoto, 33, says. “If bitcoin and ethereum weren’t also [hit], I’d be worried.”

Four months ago, when he bought in, dogecoin was priced at about 4.5 cents. On May 8, the meme-inspired cryptocurrency, which was created as a joke in 2013 based on the “Doge” meme of a shiba inu dog, hit an all-time high of about 73 cents, and the value of Contessoto’s holdings surpassed $2 million.

After its surge, dogecoin’s price continued to fluctuate, but Contessoto remained confident in holding for the long-term — he even bought more dogecoin during the dips. Even now, he refuses to sell.

This volatility, however, is in part why experts warn that cryptocurrency is a risky, speculative investment. Some warn to be especially cautious when investing in dogecoin, since it lacks the scarcity and technological development that bitcoin has, for example.

Still, Contessoto remains bullish on dogecoin, even though he isn’t currently a “dogecoin millionaire” on paper. “When I went into this dogecoin investment, I planned on being in it for at least a year,” he says. “I put in my life savings because I knew I would eventually become a millionaire.”

Now, he plans to hold the currency for much longer than a year. “Whatever happens in the short-term doesn’t matter to me because I’m looking to ‘hodl’ dogecoin for years to come. I’m truly not worried at the end of the day.”

Contessoto is sticking to his original plan: He will sell 10% of his dogecoin holdings once his portfolio reaches a $10 million value, but will leave the rest invested, he says.

“People get caught up in the short-term and don’t have the patience to see the investment all the way through,” he says of his decision to hold.

While Contessoto isn’t worried, experts recommend exercising caution with dogecoin and warn to only invest what you can afford to lose.

But for Contessoto, “volatility comes with the territory and if you can’t stomach the fluctuations, then maybe you’re not cut out for crypto.”

Dogecoin is currently trading at around 19 cents, according to CoinMarketCap, with a market value of over $24 billion.

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Glauber Contessoto took a big risk on dogecoin, a meme-inspired cryptocurrency that began as a joke, earlier this year.

Between his savings and borrowed funds, Contessoto says that he invested over $250,000 in dogecoin on February 5 when it was priced at about 4.5 cents. About two months later, on April 15, he says he became a dogecoin millionaire on paper.

Since, Contessoto has refused to sell, despite dogecoin’s ups and downs. He plans to buy more of the digital coin and “hodl” for the long haul.

Contessoto believes in dogecoin so much that he now requests to be paid in it whenever he works with crypto brands on social media promotions.

Contessoto will earn a total of $25,000 for an upcoming partnership between his YouTube channel and blockchain project Acria Network, he tells CNBC Make It. When finalizing the deal, the company asked if he’d prefer to be paid in U.S. dollars or crypto.

“Of course, I said dogecoin,” he says. “So, they literally paid me in dogecoin. They gave me half upfront, and the other half when I deliver the video.”

To keep up with his growing “dogecoin millionaire” brand online, Contessoto also quit his day job at a music company in Los Angeles in June. “I had no idea how I was going to make money moving forward,” he says.

He earns a little bit of money from selling merch on his website, but his main focus is developing his social media presence.

In one month, he has made $28,000 from social media ads and promotions, which was primarily paid out in dogecoin. “That’s about six months salary at my old job,” Contessoto says.

After covering all of his bills, including rent, food and other expenses, Contessoto plans to continue to invest as much as he can in dogecoin. Though experts warn against it, “[I’m] all invested in doge,” Contessoto says. “Doge is my savings account.”

As of around 12:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, his dogecoin holdings are worth around $931,689.

Dogecoin is trading at around 23 cents as of 4:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, according to CoinMarketCap. But, “if it drops below 20 cents next week, I’ll buy the dip again,” Contessoto says. After hitting a record high on May 8 of around 73 cents, the digital coin fell to around 47 cents on May 9, and Contessoto invested another $17,500, he previously said.

However, financial experts are highly skeptical of dogecoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies. Their extreme volatility is one reason why experts warn that it’s a risky, speculative investment.

And some warn to be especially cautious when investing in dogecoin in particular, since it lacks the scarcity and technological development that bitcoin has, for example. Investors could get burned, and in turn, should only invest what they can afford to lose.

“You risk losing nearly all the money you put in,” James Ledbetter, editor of fintech newsletter FIN and CNBC contributor, previously told CNBC Make It. “It has no intrinsic value and it could just as easily come crashing down in price as continue to go up.”

Still, Contessoto’s outlook on dogecoin remains extremely bullish. Depending on what happens in the coming months, he believes the price could rise. He’s hopeful it will hit $1 by the end of the year.

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