夏木币圈故事系列

Many people ask me why I would invest my hard-earned money into an asset that 'seems very volatile'? Why not choose more stable options, such as funds, insurance, or fixed deposits? I always respond with one sentence: I am not investing in Bitcoin; I am buying back my own time.

This sounds like a slogan, but for me, it is an extremely real feeling. From a young age, we are taught: 'Study hard, get into a good university, join a stable company, save money slowly, and finally retire.' The premise of this logic is a stable, predictable fiat currency system: money will not devalue quickly, assets will appreciate steadily, and labor will yield fair returns.

That year, I was 24, having worked for nearly 2 years, and I considered myself someone whose life was 'on the right track.' I had a stable income, small investments, and understood savings and financial management. But what truly made me sit in front of the screen late at night, gritting my teeth to buy my first Bitcoin, was not a candlestick chart from some tweet, nor a call from an influencer, but a deeper sense of fear: FOMO, anxiety about the future, distrust of fiat currency, and unease about my own fate.

In the past, I had biases against Bitcoin. The news only reported on crashes, scams, and environmental issues; elders said it had no intrinsic value; colleagues laughed and said, 'How could something like this become currency?' I once echoed those sentiments until I started to truly think about one question: If the money I have now becomes worthless in the future, what is the meaning of my hard work over the years?

When you first hear about Bitcoin, it is most likely in some news about a dramatic rise or fall. When people talk about it, they either excitedly shout 'it's doubled again' or sarcastically say 'it has crashed again'. Bitcoin seems to be forever simplified into a price game, a speculative product for quick profits or devastating losses.

I used to view it that way too. Until one day, I started to seriously think about a question: what is a true asset?

We have been taught since childhood that 'assets are tangible, stable, and productive'. Thus, we believe in real estate, believe in gold, believe in government bonds and high-quality corporate stocks. But is the essence of these 'assets' truly safe? Can they fundamentally withstand systemic risks? Are they really in our own hands?