Back in 2013, during college, I first learned about Bitcoin. I mentioned it in passing to a few friends in my dorm, and we jokingly defined Bitcoin as a 'Tulip Bubble'. Later, while browsing Taobao, I happened to see a shop selling Bitcoin for one or two thousand yuan each. The shop owner bragged about how amazing Bitcoin would be in the future! At that time, I was really tempted, scraped together some living expenses, bought one, and later discovered it had skyrocketed to 6000 yuan. I sold it decisively and felt quite pleased with myself!
1️⃣ Arbitrage Section:
After graduation and going through a bunch of trivial matters, the next time I heard about Bitcoin was during the big bull market of 2021. I planned to rekindle my old love, but coincidentally, that big crash happened, which scared me into observing for a few months. I officially entered the crypto world around 2022.
First, I downloaded #Binance app @CZ 🔶 BNB , which was the first step into the crypto world. I met the first batch of friends in the crypto circle at Binance Square @heyibinance . At that time, there was a moderator who specifically posted to guide people in arbitrage, and I joined the first WeChat group in the crypto community. Later, I gradually acquired mainstream exchanges like #Bitget @xiejiayinBitget #Gate.io , and I realized how rich the current crypto ecosystem has become.
For nearly a year afterward, I followed my group friends to work on various arbitrage projects, leveraging some basic programming knowledge. I managed to open up to 5000 accounts for a single project, and the profits were indeed impressive. The most profitable single account earned up to 2000u. Those who experienced it back then should deeply resonate; it’s completely different from the '300u big arbitrage' of today.
In fact, if it weren't for the anti-arbitrage year of 2023-2024, market enthusiasm would likely be even higher!
2️⃣ Dog Coins
Back in 2021, due to the massive surge of Dogecoin #DOGE and Shiba Inu #shib , the term meme coin first entered the mainstream. The biggest advantage of playing with memes at that time was that there weren't so many trading platforms; as long as the angle and sentiment were right, it was easy to make a profit. You could invest 1000 yuan in the morning and by the afternoon it could turn into 1 million; it was really that exaggerated.
Back then, everyone was busy researching whether there were new projects and whether contracts had pitfalls, like the ability to withdraw pools or unlimited issuance, as well as traps such as being able to buy but not sell. Although there wasn’t a relatively standardized platform like pump at that time, nor wallets with built-in detection and anti-squeeze capabilities, and no auxiliary tools like gmgn or axiom, people were still able to earn, and everyone truly expanded their perspectives, increasing the influence of the meme community.
The emergence of pump, while able to standardize meme issuance, has also led to a plethora of repetitive trading platforms, turning PVE into PVP, where it’s a race to see who can run faster. Good narratives often end in a 'dousing'.
3️⃣ Secondary Spot Market
In the spot market, there are many big names in the industry. Following the wave of imitation coins, many have accumulated assets to A8 and A9, achieving a form of financial freedom. Notable figures include @EnHeng456, an early believer in BNB, known as the 'Prince of Binance', and @DtDt666, an early believer in Sol, who took profits at a high price for Sol in 2024. Of course, there are many hidden wealthy individuals who have also realized their dream of traveling the world.
So, at this stage, with the approval of ETFs and the influx of old money from Wall Street, after several rounds of trading, the major players in Bitcoin are no longer the wild speculators of the past, which has led to a relatively stable price for Bitcoin.
Stability also means there are no major fluctuations. Without fluctuations, there will be no opportunities for massive profits. So if you are a new player, don’t waste time on those trash imitation coins that can crash you. Stick to Bitcoin and mainstream public chains or major exchange tokens; don’t buy anything else.
4️⃣ Arbitrage
To briefly explain arbitrage strategies, this may not be suitable for everyone, as it requires some programming and financial knowledge, generally referred to as 'quantitative arbitrage'.
A few years ago, 'triangular arbitrage' on exchanges was quite popular. Later, as more people got involved, making money required competing with overseas servers and internet speeds, leading to increasingly high costs. Today, it has almost become unprofitable.
There was also the once-popular 'futures-spot arbitrage', which involves finding non-perpetual contracts and profiting from price differences on settlement days.
Now let's talk about on-chain arbitrage. The once-popular 'MEV' arbitrage, also known as sandwich attacks, involves writing a script to monitor on-chain activities. When a large order is executed, you pay a bit more in gas fees to buy before the original buyer, and then sell it to them at a higher price, forcing them to buy tokens at a price above the market.
There are many similar arbitrage strategies, and those interested can search for them on their own; I remember some bloggers have specifically written about this.
5️⃣ Contracts
Why do I put this section last? Because it's a Pandora's box! Especially for newcomers to the circle, I really don’t recommend jumping straight into contracts; it can be addictive! You might say, 'I'll just play with 200u to get a feel for it and then quit.' Trust me, once you start, regardless of winning or losing, you'll keep playing until you lose all your initial investment, and then go through the process of uninstalling the exchange app and cursing blockchain!
Of course, there are some who are truly gifted and excel in this area, like Liangxi. However, even someone as strong as Liangxi still faces losses. Why do you think you will be lucky enough to keep winning? Especially if you are a small-cap new retail investor!