Contributor One:
I’d also like to share my experiences and some reflections from the crypto space.
Divided into four stages along the timeline
First stage (2016-2017). The ignorant are fearless; making money to the point of losing reason.
I entered the crypto space in 2016 and caught the big bull market in 2017. With a capital of 100,000, I reached over ten million at my peak. Two coins left a deep impression: one was GXChain (GXS), where I participated in a private sale with 2 BTC when BTC was 6000 each, and it opened at 3 million. The other was AntShares (later renamed NEO), where I bought 10,000 coins at 1 yuan each, which peaked to over 1000, making that single coin worth over ten million. Then I got carried away, thinking I was invincible. At that time, I thought, why not set a small goal to earn 100 million, and once I achieve that, I’ll stop playing. Then... well, it became a story of 'a person full of desires, feeling invincible, being ruthlessly taught a lesson by the market.'
Second stage (2018-2019). Reflecting on myself, starting anew.
In 2018, the market entered a downward cycle. Watching my hands full of altcoins and a hopeless future, my mood hit rock bottom. I would curse myself every day. But the market wouldn’t open a backdoor for you because of your pain. So this stage was more about reflecting on myself and understanding the market. After a period of adjustment, I understood two truths. One is that nobody is more powerful than anyone else; we are all ordinary people. The reason I could make money in 2017 wasn’t because I was powerful; it was simply that the market was too good, and I was lucky enough to be standing on the trend. To put it bluntly, I was just a pig on the wind, and taking off was inevitable. The second truth is about capital control. Small capital has its way of playing, while large capital has its way. You can’t use a small capital mindset to play with large capital, or you will suffer greatly. Once I understood this, I tidied my feelings and began to reallocate my holdings, getting rid of most altcoins and converting them into BTC, ETH, and USDT.
Third stage (2020-2021). Rational allocation, timely profit-taking.
After experiencing a complete bull-bear cycle, my mindset has become much calmer. Coupled with the crypto space entering a rising cycle again, my assets started to appreciate continuously. During this time, what I did more was taking profits and continuously reallocating. So, compared to 2017, it was relatively less dramatic. Maybe because I’m older, I feel that simplicity and calmness are the real treasures.
Fourth stage (2022-?). Cultivating inner strength, believing in the future.
I firmly believe in the future of the crypto space. It is inevitable that its scale will surpass previous highs. All we need to do now is one thing: don’t exit the market and keep holding quality assets; the future will surely yield great rewards.
Contributor Two:
Reflecting on my inner journey, I hope everyone can learn from my experiences.
I entered this circle during the 2017 bull market, and everyone referred to it as the 'crypto circle'. I later realized that it was actually at the end of the 2017 bull market. Initially, I just wanted to understand the circle a bit and try investing. I recall that I bought my first coin, Ontology (ONT), around March or April of 2018. It started to rise the next day, and the highest I saw on Huobi’s K-line was 11 dollars. I remember clearly that I invested 30,000, and I tasted the sweetness right from the start, feeling like an investment genius, as money came in so fast that I even felt a bit guilty for only investing 30k. At that time, trading and mining were booming, and many people were making money after hearing about FCOIN's trading and mining. I remember entering at 4 dollars, which was a bit late; it soon rose to six or seven dollars and then started to fall, so I got scared and ran away, making a bit of profit. Looking back later, it turned out to be a wise decision. Various imitation projects came out afterward, the most memorable being a project by CP, where CP exchange was going to launch trading and mining. Many people rushed in to frantically increase their trading volume to earn tokens based on the trading fees. I even stayed up past 2 AM to do this; it was exhausting, so I went home to sleep. The next day, it opened with several dozen times returns. New investors had never seen so much money, so they sold immediately, only to see the price eventually break new highs! Later, another project launched, but I can’t remember its name, also related to trading and mining. Similarly, I rushed to buy in when it opened, but the opening price was not very high, only a few times. Based on the last lesson, I took some profits to at least cover my costs. Thankfully, a friend suggested I sell some to recover my capital. I was glad I did because the price kept falling, down to nearly zero. The last project I got stuck in seemed to be BP, which had the same storyline. The difference was that the project team hadn't launched yet, and I ended up getting brainwashed in an external trading group. They had taken quite a bit of money from me in off-market trades. The final outcome was a direct drop below the issue price, plummeting rapidly. Blockchain scams led me to exit, and I hardly made any profit. My summary of experiences is this: when a new hype emerges, as time passes, the bubble will burst faster and faster, from continuous new highs at the beginning to breaking below the issue price at launch. This cycle is the same! Thus, it’s crucial to have risk control, don’t believe in empty promises, and when prices rise quickly, sell to recover costs immediately.
Time has quickly come to 2020, and decentralized trading was booming. After knowing about Pearl, I recharged and entered the market again. Following the right projects, I quickly saw a rapid appreciation of my assets within about a month. Seeing this trend, based on my previous stock investment experience, I realized that to achieve higher returns within a limited timeframe, I needed to increase my capital. The most convenient way I could think of was to take out loans. Later, when I saw some projects starting to cut people off, I decisively exited. At this time, mainstream coins also started to rise, and I felt it was expensive. Since I was not particularly interested in this mainstream coin, I just watched it rise!! It was quite uncomfortable, but I knew the bubble would eventually burst. Until May 19th came, when Bitcoin was at 33,000 and Ethereum at 1,900, I bought the dip. Then, according to my previous investment principles, I had to sell during the rapid rise. When Bitcoin hit 66,000 and Ethereum around 4,500, I sold 80% of my position.
In the second half of 2021, the gaming hype came again. I could tell at a glance that it was just a capital game, akin to previous trading and mining. However, that didn't prevent me from making money. Just invest in whatever game comes up, and eventually, I realized that people would start to be cut off and then run away! Value investing doesn’t exist. Based on previous experiences, I made about two million in total, although I missed many opportunities along the way. But nobody is perfect; money can’t be made by just one person, right?
My summary of experiences is:
1. Mainstream coins should still be allocated at the right time; dollar-cost average during bear markets; otherwise, it’s really uncomfortable when they rise.
2. When the hype comes, just jump in; you need to have an eye for spotting opportunities.
3. To survive in the crypto space, find a method that works for you to make money; someday, you will make a profit.
The market is brutal; think about how to survive because only by surviving can you have opportunities. It starts with a big loss, then a small loss, then a small gain, and finally a big gain. That’s the correct process; don’t get scared off at the beginning, or you’ll really become chives.
Contributor Three:
Yesterday, I read many sharing articles from experts and benefited greatly. I would also like to share my experience in the crypto space. 'How a rural mom from 1984 gave birth to two kids in four years and made a few million.'
Let me introduce myself formally. My name is Lao Deng, a nickname that has been used since my student days, and I’ve become accustomed to it over the years; it feels friendly when everyone calls me that. I was born in 1984 in a rural area of Quzhou, Zhejiang, and I have two children, with my eldest being 6 years old and the youngest just 7 months. I rarely chat in groups because I dedicate most of my time to my baby. I attended a scientist meeting in Hangzhou with my eldest. Before I had children, I worked as a process engineer in a factory in Shanghai that produced Apple computers, and later I went into sales. Eventually, I returned to my hometown to start a business, selling clothes and running after-school tutoring for elementary school students. I ended up in the wedding event industry, renting out props and setting up stages. In 2017, after becoming pregnant, I exited the physical industry, focusing solely on investments, while my brother continued the business. At that time, I wanted to spend more time with my children and focus on their education. But just being a stay-at-home mom didn’t satisfy me. I started asking my child’s father for money, but that wouldn’t work; a woman without money lacks confidence. I wanted financial freedom and to have my own sense of security. However, I only had a few hundred thousand in cash at that time, and I was clueless about achieving financial freedom. I just had this seed of thought planted in my mind, waiting to sprout...
I utilized my time with the kids to join various learning platforms and communities to keep learning. It was here that I came into contact with the crypto space. I initially joined a community focused on dollar-cost averaging into EOS and overseas funds. I’m very glad that I didn’t enter the crypto space through a pump-and-dump scheme. I remember that the exchange we used to buy coins was called OTCBTC, which ranked around 20th on non-smalldogs. I invested at least 100 yuan daily to dollar-cost average into EOS. The teacher analyzed how technically strong EOS was, and in the future, each coin would be worth 1000 USDT. If we dollar-cost averaged 10,000 coins, that would be 10 million, allowing for financial freedom. From the 60s onward, dollar-cost averaging continued downward. I heard from previous group members that their dollar-cost averaged ADA price had dropped by 50%. I rushed to buy the dip, but unexpectedly, I bought in halfway down the slope. I realized that in this entirely new field, just following the teacher blindly dollar-cost averaging into EOS and ADA didn’t seem to work anymore. I started frantically searching for communities to learn from on public accounts. In 2019, there was a significant drop, and BTC fell to over 3000 USD, but at that time I didn’t dare to buy much, only a few tens of thousands. It was still spread across several coins. I thought, could it drop lower? Should I wait a bit longer? After waiting, it rose to over 8000 USD, and then I kept buying, fearing I would miss out. The lower it fell, the more I wanted it to drop, with bad news everywhere. Then a big bullish candle appeared, and the troops came rushing in. In 2019, I kept buying, and I bought over 40 types of tokens in the secondary market. It was too many! Later, I started to manage my positions.
Divided into three sectors:
1. Mainstream coins (Bitcoin, Ethereum, EOS, Ripple, BSV, etc.).
Two, platform coins (only bought three major platform coins, with a fairly low cost for BNB).
Three, value altcoins (anonymous coins, public chain coins, etc. are all included). I structured my positions as 5-3-2.
In the end, I still have over ten to twenty types of tokens. The most regretful is that I cleared out Dogecoin. To mention the tokens that impressed me most, Polkadot was one; I knew about its ICO but didn’t know how to participate. Later, I waited for it to crash in the secondary market, and I watched it rise from around 0.5 to about 2.7 before finally buying some. I missed out on the DeFi year of 2020; I can’t even remember what I was doing back then.
In May 2021, when Bitcoin was over 58,000, I exited half my position because my little one was about to be born! The later stages of pregnancy were really exhausting (heart issues, difficulty breathing), and I didn’t want to look at the market. I sold USDT for over 3 million, withdrawing 150,000 to 200,000 daily over 10 to 20 days. Various WeChat, Alipay, and bank cards were used; after withdrawing, I immediately put the funds into Alipay's Yu'e Bao, WeChat finance, and transferred to stock accounts, etc. After my baby was born, I rushed to buy an investment property in Taizhou. I was just timid, afraid of funds being frozen. After my baby was born in August 2021, I got into NFTs, learning about GameFi and the metaverse. When I first got involved, I often set my alarm at midnight to grab NFTs, but not only did I fail to grab them, it also affected my sleep. Eventually, I decided not to participate in any projects that launched after 11 PM, as my energy is limited. Of course, selectively participating led me to seize a few opportunities, and I made over a hundred thousand in both NFTs and GameFi. However, I also got stuck on some profits. I attribute my ability to make money to my timidity; when I see a few multiples of profit, I generally sell out half. I keep the rest for long-term holds to see if any surprises occur. So I have NFTs and tokens from various projects, but I tend to forget and not check them. Lastly, I want to share some of my experiences regarding buying the dip in the secondary market.
1. If someone is aggressively buying the dip, it’s highly likely not the bottom. When there’s a fierce battle between bulls and bears, it’s likely that the bottom hasn’t been reached yet, so it’s a good idea to wait and see.
2. If the market's decline is due to policy, then is the policy starting to relax, or is the tightening just beginning? Future tightening could be more severe. If another ‘shoe’ drops, then at least wait until it lands before considering buying the dip. A few pieces of advice for newcomers:
1. The most common mistake for newcomers is to feel that Bitcoin is too expensive and buy other coins instead. But actually, expensive and cheap are relative. A Bitcoin at 40,000 USD isn’t expensive; it could rise to 80,000 or 100,000 USD, while a 10 yuan altcoin is very expensive because it might drop to 0.01 yuan. So always look to the future.
2. You should think about how, under any circumstances, you will almost never be forced to sell your coins. Only then can you hold for 5 to 10 years and enjoy the value gains this cycle brings. In the investment field, sometimes hard work doesn’t guarantee profit. Being a diamond hand is quite good.
3. Always keep some bullets in reserve because Bitcoin often retreats by 30%-50%.
4. Always write down your wallet private keys on paper; do not store them on computers, phones, or cloud storage! They are easily lost.
Contributor Four:
I entered the market at the end of 2017, and the money-making effect of the ICO super bull market finally got me into the crypto space.
Previously, I surpassed stocks and forex, deeply researched K-lines and indicators, and entering the crypto space revealed a new world.
The profit-making effect in the crypto space is indeed too strong, especially in a bull market. As a friend puts it, making money in the crypto space is one of the easiest ways to make money.
However, during bear markets, the market is essentially stagnant due to a lack of liquidity, so this is when dollar-cost averaging and restraining oneself are crucial.
After entering the crypto space, my initial capital was relatively small, just over a hundred thousand. As the growth of mainstream coins was limited, I mainly chose altcoins. I invested in projects like BOS and PVT, which ended up at zero. A significant problem was that after following a project for a long time, I fell into a belief trap. I tended to magnify its strengths while ignoring its existing weaknesses, which at times could be fatal. For example, after Huobi’s withdrawal from the BOS project, this crucial signal should have been taken seriously, but due to my faith in the EOS main chain and the technical strength of BOS, I ended up holding on inappropriately.
PVT was the token for the content platform Pivot, which eventually went to zero after a brief surge on Huobi. It was also because the diamond hands’ faith in the project led to losses of over 90%.
Both times I went to zero were due to all-in bets, losing around several hundred thousand.
Thus, faith can be a dangerous thing; if misplaced, it can cause significant harm.
So the first piece of advice is to choose projects wisely, see if they have strong fundamentals, such as support from Binance, etc. Otherwise, don’t blindly attach yourself to faith.
After entering the crypto space, many projects yielded huge profits, such as AMPL, MX, etc. However, I ultimately didn’t succeed, mainly due to incorrect profit-taking strategies.
Generally, projects consolidate for a long time, but when they rise, it happens in just one to two weeks, which is very short. However, facing a rise, I never had a pre-planned profit-taking strategy. After selling, I would regret it if the price went up. I thought, after waiting so long, it would be too much of a loss to leave after this small rise. So I often ended up on a rollercoaster.
Second piece of advice: You should have a profit-taking strategy prepared beforehand. When the rise comes, don’t make decisions; exit according to the plan.
Many people have experienced rollercoasters. Most of them couldn’t control their greed when prices were rising. This can only be solved by having a predetermined profit-taking strategy and implementing it decisively.
Looking back during the downtrend, I realized how meaningful my previous profit-taking operations were.
When dealing with the BABY coin, I successfully implemented my previous profit-taking plan, and the results were greatly rewarding.
Now let’s talk about the issue of capital size.
I personally lean towards small capital, such as within 500,000 RMB, finding one or two reliable projects to invest heavily in. Of course, the premise is that the projects are reliable. This is an opportunity for us ordinary people to leap in the crypto space, which is not available in the outside world, so we must cherish such opportunities.
For large capital amounts, such as over 10 million RMB, relying on cycles for profit is essential. Such amounts entering an early-stage altcoin project are inappropriate—both entry and exit are very difficult.
Large funds should adopt a strategy of dollar-cost averaging into mainstream projects during a bear market, waiting for the next cycle to achieve a leap in assets during a bull market.
Thus, the third piece of advice is that small capital should aim for big returns, while large capital relies on transitioning between bull and bear markets. I am currently practicing this latter half.
Currently, most of my positions are in stablecoins, with a small investment in AssangeDAO's JUSTICE token.
My personal view is that when encountering a project with good fundamentals and temporary community consensus disputes, it’s a relatively good buying point.
All-in and heavy positions are harder to hold; smaller positions are easier to manage. Ultimately, reaching tens of millions or even hundreds of millions still relies on holding.
Stay nostalgic, use precise strategies for analysis, and select through large-scale AI big data to put yourself in an invincible position? The market never misses opportunities; the question is whether you can seize them. Following experienced individuals and aligning with the right people is how we can earn more!
Continuously pay attention to: BSW, FLM, VOXEL, AIOT.