@Zeneca (founder of ZenAcademy) compares today’s crypto market to online poker at its peak.
Poker had its golden era from 2003–2014.
Loose rules. Inexperienced players. Simple strategies could win.
All you needed was an internet connection to make money.
Many people struck it big thanks to luck.
Crypto was the same.
Zero-cost airdrops. ICOs. DeFi Summer. NFTs in 2021.
Anyone who got in early and did a few basic things right could win big.
But what happened to poker?
Players got better.
Competition became brutal.
AI, bots, and game theory took over.
To win, you had to study seriously, be disciplined, use tools, and have systems.
After 2015, only a small number of people could still make a living from poker.
Crypto is walking the same path.
Zeneca believes crypto in 2025 is like poker in 2012:
there are still opportunities, but it’s no longer “shooting fish in a barrel.”
– No more 10x just because you clicked faster than others.
– Airdrops are harder, requiring time, capital, and real understanding.
– Rewards are smaller, competition is bigger.
– Old playbooks will cost you dearly.
Retail?
They came. They got wrecked. They left.
Now retail is coming back by… DCA’ing Bitcoin via ETFs.
That’s good for the ecosystem, but it won’t create another “speculative golden age.”
So where is the edge?
Just like poker in its tougher phase:
Discipline.
Continuous learning.
Reading whitepapers yourself.
Building your own investment thesis.
Having a strong peer group.
Keeping a trading journal.
Knowing when to take profits.
The good news: crypto isn’t just a zero-sum game.
There is real technology.
Real use cases.
A long road ahead.
You don’t need to trade day and night — simply DCA’ing Bitcoin is already a reasonable strategy.
The era of “easy money” may be over.
But the future of crypto is brighter than ever.
By 2030, a new generation may very well say:
“If only I had taken crypto more seriously in 2025.”
📌 The golden age may be behind us.
But the future is still ahead.$BTC
