Just buy Bitcoin directly. I have s9 and it's almost a year and I still have not ROI yet my initial btc payment.
If this is true... you seriously need to get out of crypto... ASAP!
(reality check) I cannot fathom a situation this is true.
maybe he bought it of ebay... or maybe he paid for it right after a really big price surge... and he is considering the amount paid in crypto, not in fiat counterpart