The biting cold wind under the overpass in Shenzhen blew over a man who once had hundreds of bitcoins but ultimately ended up with nothing. His story became the heaviest footnote in the ten-year tumult of the cryptocurrency world.
In the twelfth month of 2015, under an ordinary overpass in Shenzhen, a man known as 'Three Horse Brother' wrapped in a thin coat tried to fall asleep in the cold wind. Just a few months ago, he was an early miner holding hundreds of bitcoins, and at this moment, all his wealth had evaporated in the 3M funding scheme.
Even the last two bitcoins—money he reserved for meals and rent—were forever locked in the funding scheme that collapsed while he was demonstrating how to operate to his family.
01 The scars of the crypto circle
Ten years later, when 'Sam' hears the song (ten years) in the live broadcast room, that memory is still fresh. The hundreds of bitcoins accumulated through mining in 2012 were all invested in the 3M funding scheme in the summer of 2015.
He created over 100 accounts and was as active as today's users 'taking profits', hoping to achieve explosive wealth growth through compound interest models. At that time, he, like many current crypto users, believed that his cleverness could outsmart the system.
The difference is that nowadays, the cost for users to 'take profits' is extremely low, while what he invested was hundreds of real bitcoins. Just a few days before the collapse of 3M, he demonstrated to his family how to operate and invested the last of his survival funds, and that day the platform became unable to withdraw.
The collapse of the funding scheme not only took away his bitcoins but also took away his home and dignity. Nearly a month of homelessness under a bridge in Shenzhen became the darkest chapter of his financial career. This true story reminds every investor: earning money is important, but preserving wealth is even more important.
02 The centralized trap
'Sam's' experience exposed a fatal weakness in traditional finance and the early cryptocurrency space: the single point of failure risk brought about by centralized control. Whether it's the 3M funding scheme or other similar projects, they are built on centralized authority and trust.
When central nodes encounter problems or make erroneous decisions, all participants' assets face risks.
In traditional financial systems and many cryptocurrency projects, users must entrust their assets to third-party institutions. These institutions lack transparency, their operational mechanisms are not disclosed, and they are prone to 'black box operations.'
Once these centralized platforms collapse, run away, or are attacked, users' assets are often difficult to recover. Funding schemes exploit people's blind trust in centralized authorities, promising high returns to attract funds while actually constructing Ponzi schemes.
This centralized model is contrary to the core principles of blockchain technology. The reason blockchain was created was to solve the trust issues of centralized institutions.
The true spirit of cryptocurrency advocates for decentralization, transparency, and user autonomy over assets. When investors completely hand over their assets to others, they have already lost true ownership of their wealth.
03 The transparent commitment of DeFi
Unlike traditional finance and early cryptocurrency scams, decentralized finance offers a completely new solution. Blockchain-based DeFi protocols execute automatically through smart contracts, and all transaction records are open and transparent, allowing anyone to verify.
This fundamentally changes the way financial trust is established.
In this new paradigm, decentralized stablecoins play a key role. Taking USDD as an example, it represents the development direction of the new generation of decentralized stablecoins. Unlike traditional stablecoins issued and managed by a single institution, USDD's operational mechanism is fully transparent and subject to community oversight.
USDD adopts an over-collateralization mechanism to ensure that every circulating USDD has sufficient and verifiable asset support. This design prevents the common fractional reserve risks in traditional finance and avoids the unlimited leverage expansion typical of funding schemes.
More importantly, the smart contract code of USDD is open source, and anyone can review its operational mechanism. All collateral assets are stored in publicly verifiable blockchain addresses, allowing users to verify in real-time whether the collateral ratio is sufficient. This level of transparency is something traditional financial systems cannot provide and is the best safeguard against 'black box operations.'
04 True asset autonomy
One of the core values of decentralization is that users have complete control over their assets. In the DeFi world, users control their assets through private keys, without needing to entrust their assets to any third-party institutions. This eliminates the risk of centralized platforms running away or misappropriating funds.
As a decentralized stablecoin, USDD provides users with a storage tool for stable value while maintaining autonomous control over assets. Users can exchange USDD for other assets at any time or participate in various DeFi protocols to earn yields, with the entire process requiring no trust in any intermediary.
This autonomy is reflected not only in asset control but also in protocol governance. Many decentralized projects adopt a DAO governance model, allowing token holders to participate in decision-making processes. This decentralized governance ensures that the development direction of the protocol aligns with community interests rather than the private interests of a few.
05 A financial future defined by trust through stability
After experiencing the painful lesson of the 3M funding scheme, 'Sam' deeply realized: financial stability and trust should not be based on vague promises, but on transparent mechanisms and verifiable reserves.
This is indeed the goal that the new generation of decentralized stablecoins strives to achieve.
#USDD shows trust through stability# is not just a slogan, but a pursuit of a transparent financial system. In the USDD ecosystem, stability is achieved through over-collateralization and public verification, and trust is established through code transparency and community oversight.
This model stands in stark contrast to traditional funding schemes, providing a healthier and more sustainable development path for the cryptocurrency space.
That winter ten years ago, the cold wind under the bridge in Shenzhen taught a person the harshest lesson about financial risk. And today, decentralized finance is building a more transparent, autonomous, and stable financial system, ensuring that similar tragedies do not happen again.
True financial freedom means not only having assets but also having complete control and transparent protection over those assets. In this new financial world, every participant is the true master of their own wealth.
