In December 2024, I sat in a rented room in a village in the city of Shenzhen, looking at my Binance account balance on my phone: 1247.32 USDT.
I finally admitted a cruel fact: I wasted a full 8 years in the crypto world!
Eight years ago, I had just graduated from university and stepped into the crypto world with dreams of making money.
At that time, Bitcoin was still a few thousand dollars, and I thought I was catching the trend of the times and was about to become a winner in life.
Eight years ago, that passionate young man who entered the crypto world with dreams of getting rich is now 300,000 in debt and has nothing.
Now looking back, it was really too naive.
I finally admit: I wasted a full 8 years of my youth in the crypto world!
Year One: The fearless young calf!
The story begins with my roommate Xiao Li.
In 2016, my roommate Xiao Li earned tens of thousands from trading cryptocurrencies and bought his first car. Watching him drive the new car with his girlfriend, I felt a strong itch.
"Dude, the crypto world is just an ATM!" Xiao Li patted my shoulder and said, "Are you still there sending resumes looking for jobs? That's too LOW!"
In May 2016, he mysteriously told me: "Dude, I bought something called Ethereum and made 80,000 in 3 months!"
At that time, the price of ETH was only $12, and I was stunned looking at the Binance account he showed me. 80,000! This was my parents' annual income.
"This thing makes more money than stocks, you should try it too!" Xiao Li encouraged.
I was tempted. The 50,000 living expenses my parents gave me at graduation, I put everything into ETH, buying at an average price of $14.5, acquiring 3,448 coins.
In those months, I stared at the market for 16 hours a day, and ETH rose from $14 to $22.
In the first three months, I stared at the market for over ten hours a day, excited when it rose and anxious when it fell.
Fortunately, that period coincided with the bull market, and my funds multiplied tenfold.
My account balance: $75,856, approximately 500,000 RMB!
500,000! For a freshly graduated college student, this is simply an astronomical figure.
I began to believe that I had a talent for trading cryptocurrencies and even turned down several good job offers.
The thrill of getting rich for the first time completely addicted me.
By the end of the year, I didn't look for a job but continued trading cryptocurrencies.
Bought 2,000 LTC (Litecoin) at an average price of $46; 50,000 DOGE (Dogecoin) at an average price of $0.002; and 1,000 BNB at an average price of $0.1.
By early 2017, my total assets had reached 1.2 million RMB.
I started to feel like I was the chosen one.
Year Two: The cost of inflation, assets reached the peak!
2017 was the craziest year in the crypto world.
With the "success experience" of the first year, I became more aggressive. Not only did I invest all my savings in cryptocurrencies, but I also started borrowing money to trade.
"Anyway, it's a bull market, you make money no matter how you buy." That's how I thought back then.
I started trading futures, leveraging, chasing hot spots, buying whatever coins were rising fast. ICO projects, altcoins, all kinds of "hundredfold coins," I wanted to participate.
During that time, I thought I was a stock god, posting profit screenshots in my friend circle every day, and even giving lectures to classmates on "blockchain investment insights."
However, the bear market of 2018 came faster and fiercer than imagined.
My ETH rose from $22 at the beginning of the year to $728 by the end of the year, an increase of over 30 times! 3,448 ETH is worth 2.5 million dollars.
LTC rose from $46 to $375, 2,000 coins worth $750,000.
DOGE rose from $0.002 to $0.017, making $75,000 from 50,000 coins.
BNB soared from $0.1 to $24, making 240 times profit on 1,000 coins!
With the gains from various altcoins, my total assets reached their peak in December 2017: 5.37 million RMB!
At that time, I was simply inflated to the sky. My friend circle was filled with posts about luxury cars, brand-name watches, and high-end restaurants.
I even turned down an offer from Tencent, thinking that working was just working for someone else, too low.
"One day in the crypto world, a year in the human world." That's how I thought back then.
Year Three: Awakening from the dream, 2018, the moment of shattered dreams, from heaven to hell!
However, the cruelty of the crypto world was fully revealed in 2018.
In January, all cryptocurrencies began to plummet. I not only didn't take profits but thought it was a "washout" and continued to increase my position.
ETH fell from a peak of $728 to $83, a drop of 88.6%!
LTC fell from $375 to $22, a drop of 94.1%!
DOGE fell from $0.017 to $0.002, a drop of 88.2%!
BNB fell from $24 to $4.6, a drop of 80.8%!
In 2018, the crypto world collapsed. I watched helplessly as my assets fell from a peak of 500,000 to less than 50,000.
What’s worse is that I kept bottom fishing during the decline, and I still had 150,000 in loans to repay.
Spent all cash, borrowed from credit cards, borrowed money online, even borrowed from friends, various debts suffocated me.
During that time, I thought every day about how to recover my losses, buying more as prices fell.
In the end, I couldn't even afford the rent and had to move into a small rundown house in the urban village.
By the end of 2018, my total assets were less than 300,000, but my debts were 250,000!
Years Four to Six: Deep in the quagmire, I only took 1 year!
The next two years were the darkest period of my life, cycling between repaying debts and bottom fishing.
Working in a factory during the day, keeping an eye on the market at night.
Every month, my meager salary went half to repay debts and half back into the crypto world, fantasizing about the arrival of the next bull market.
In 2019, I put all my 50,000 into EOS at an average price of $2.8. As a result, EOS fell to $1, and I lost 64%.
In 2020, the DeFi craze came, and I saw YFI rise from $3 to $43,000, regretting it to the core.
I borrowed 80,000 and invested in various DeFi projects:
- SUSHI: Bought 2,000 at an average price of $12, peaked at $23, but I didn't sell.
- UNI: Airdropped 400, average price $30, didn't sell.
- AAVE: Bought 100, average price $80.
As a result, in May 2021, there was a big drop, and all these coins were halved.
My 80,000 turned into 40,000.
With previous debts included, my total liabilities reached 300,000.
Year Seven: Start reflecting, 2021, the NFT bubble, the last madness!
In 2021, NFTs exploded, and I saw the opportunity to "turn things around."
I borrowed some money from friends again, spending the only 500,000 to buy:
- 1 Bored Ape BAYC, floor price 1.2 ETH.
- 1 CryptoPunks, floor price 15 ETH.
- 10 other blue-chip NFTs.
At the craziest time, my NFT portfolio was worth over 1 million. But I made the same mistake again—didn't take profits.
The bear market came in 2022, and the NFT market completely collapsed.
My BAYC fell from a peak of 80 ETH to 10 ETH, and CryptoPunks fell from a peak of 200 ETH to 30 ETH.
In the end, I sold all my NFTs at the floor price and only recovered 50,000.
2022-2023: LUNA's collapse, complete despair.
In May 2022, I used all my remaining money to buy LUNA at an average price of $28.
I thought the LUNA ecosystem was so strong that it couldn’t go to zero. As a result, the UST depeg triggered a death spiral, and LUNA went straight to zero from $80!
50,000 turned to nothing overnight!
At that moment, I completely collapsed. All my efforts and dreams over the past 8 years turned into bubbles.
I owe 150,000 on credit cards, 100,000 on online loans, 50,000 to friends, for a total debt of 300,000.
Every month, I had to repay 8,000 just in interest, while my salary was only 5,000.
In 2023, I am already 29 years old.
Watching my classmates and friends around me have stable jobs and lives, some even getting married and having children, while I was still anxious about the fluctuations of just a few thousand.
That year I started to reflect seriously: What have I gained in these 8 years?
Aside from a belly full of theoretical knowledge about blockchain technology and countless painful experiences of liquidation, I gained almost nothing.
No stable income, no accumulation of professional skills, no normal social relationships, not even a girlfriend.
Year Eight: 2024, awakening and rebirth.
In 2024, I made a decision: to completely withdraw from the crypto world.
This decision was not easy because the crypto world had become my everything.
But I realized that if I didn’t stop now, I would truly ruin my life.
I deleted all trading software, exited all crypto groups, and began to replan my life.
Now I work in an internet company doing operations, although the salary is not high, at least it is a legitimate profession.
I started learning new skills, rebuilding my social circle, and even started dating a girlfriend.
Last year, Bitcoin rose to $100,000, and many people started to FOMO again. Friends asked me why I didn’t get on board.
I smiled bitterly: "I got off a long time ago."
In these 8 years, I missed too much:
- Did not accumulate any professional skills.
- No stable career development.
- No normal romantic relationships or marriage.
- Did not repay my parents' kindness.
- Overdrafted all credit and friendships.
The most crucial thing is that I wasted the most precious 8 years of my life.
Now I work in an e-commerce company with a monthly salary of 8,000.
Although I am still repaying debts, at least my life is back on track.
A few words for friends still in the crypto world
If you are still in the crypto world, I want to share a few bloody lessons:
1. Never borrow money to trade cryptocurrencies.
I have seen too many people go bankrupt due to leveraging. The crash in the crypto world exceeded everyone's imagination.
2. Taking profits in time is more important than bottom fishing.
I fell from 5.37 million to 50,000, simply because I didn't understand when to take profits. Greed will make you lose everything.
3. Don’t treat speculation as a career.
Trading cryptocurrencies can never replace a legitimate profession. Skills and experience are the foundation.
4. 99% of altcoins will go to zero.
I bought hundreds of altcoins, 95% of which went to zero. Only BTC and ETH barely count as long-term investments.
5. The most valuable thing when young is time.
I spent 8 years learning these lessons, and the cost was too high.
Written at the end.
Looking back now, the crypto world has brought me only pain and regret.
Although I am not financially free now, I feel much calmer inside than before.
No longer have to worry about the price fluctuations every day, no longer lose sleep over a few points of volatility.
Life is very ordinary, but very real.
If time could flow backward, I definitely would not step into the crypto world.
These 8 years of experience, besides letting me understand the greed and fear of human nature, have no value.
I hope my experience can serve as a warning to friends still struggling in the crypto world: cut losses in time, return to the right track, life is still long, and don't go further down the wrong path.
After all, true wealth is accumulated through time and effort, not through luck and speculation.
I hope my lessons can awaken more people, feel free to share this with friends around you!
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Note: This article is purely for entertainment, please do not consider it investment advice. Remember: Investing has risks, gambling ruins lives. Countless people have proven this with their own experiences.
