What should ordinary people do to escape the fate of being cut in the cryptocurrency circle? The evolutionary path from leek to rational crypto citizen
Fifteen years since the development of blockchain technology, it has grown from a marginal experiment to an undeniable financial and technological revolution. In this process, the lessons learned by early participants through their hard-earned money have become the most valuable knowledge heritage for today's ordinary investors. The key to saying goodbye to the fate of being cut is not to find shortcuts to "hundredfold coins," but to establish a systematic cognitive framework and investment discipline. This includes understanding the essence and evolutionary logic of blockchain technology, identifying market characteristics in different cycles, mastering professional analytical tools, and most importantly—managing the human weaknesses of greed and fear. As Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin said: "Cryptocurrency is not meant to make us rich quickly, but to give us freedom." When ordinary investors can transcend short-term price fluctuations and truly participate in the value creation of this technological revolution, they can not only protect themselves from being harvested but may also become builders and beneficiaries of the new financial system. In today's era of Web 3.0, everyone has the opportunity to complete the transformation from "leek" to "rational crypto citizen" through knowledge upgrade. Although this path requires continuous learning and practice, the rewards will be not only financial freedom but also a deep understanding and front-line participation in the next generation of the internet revolution.
Saying goodbye to the fate of being cut: the survival rules for ordinary people entering the cryptocurrency circle and the insights from blockchain development
The temptations and traps of the cryptocurrency circle
In 2021, when Bitcoin's price broke through the $60,000 mark, a global wave of cryptocurrency investment surged. Countless ordinary people with dreams of wealth flooded into this market, only to quickly discover that the cryptocurrency circle is both a "wealth creation machine" and a "leek harvesting machine." According to Chainalysis data, in 2021, the average loss for global cryptocurrency investors was about 50%, while the loss rate for novice investors was as high as 70% or more. This harsh reality raises a key question: How can ordinary people survive and profit in the risk-filled cryptocurrency circle without becoming "leeks"? To answer this question, we need to seek wisdom from the development history of blockchain technology. Since Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper in 2008, blockchain has undergone multiple iterations and evolutions, from pure digital currency to smart contract platforms, and now to the DeFi, NFT, and Web 3.0 revolutions. Understanding the essence and rules of these technological evolutions is the foundation for ordinary investors to build cognitive moats.
1. From Bitcoin to Altcoins: Investment Insights from the Blockchain 1.0 Era (2008-2013)
After the global financial crisis in 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published the white paper (Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System), marking the birth of blockchain technology. The core value proposition of this period was decentralized digital currency. Early Bitcoin investors achieved astonishing returns—from $0.0025 during the first trade in 2010 to over $1,000 in 2013, an increase of over 400,000 times. However, this success hides key lessons: since Bitcoin's inception, its price has increased dramatically. In May 2010, 10,000 Bitcoins could buy a $30 pizza, making each Bitcoin worth about $0.003. As of June 27, 2025, the price of Bitcoin is $107,081. Compared to 2010, the price of Bitcoin has increased by about 35.7 million times.
2. Volatility tests human nature
In 2011, Bitcoin plummeted from $31 to $2, a decline of 94%. Investors who could withstand this volatility and persisted later reaped substantial rewards. This reminds us that extreme volatility is the norm in the cryptocurrency market, and emotional management is more important than timing the market.
3. Lessons from the Altcoin Bubble
With the success of Bitcoin, the first batch of altcoins (like Litecoin, Namecoin) appeared in 2013. Most altcoins ultimately went to zero, but a few projects with technological innovation (like Litecoin adopting a different hashing algorithm) survived. This teaches us that projects that simply replicate code without substantial innovation are doomed to fail. As the entire crypto industry has developed to this day, thousands of coins are born on each chain every day, with 99% being one-time flows, among which there will be very novel projects, but ultimately they will still go to zero due to the lack of a real community to build and promote.
Therefore, CZ has mentioned more than once in public media channels that "the value of the community is the greatest value."
Also establish a long-term strategy of "buy and hold" to avoid being washed out by short-term fluctuations. During the process of community building, this must be taken into account, and a correct value perspective should be established. A healthy asset will have both rises and falls, because all candlesticks in truly decentralized systems are determined by market behavior. Only such assets will not be subject to so-called project parties cutting leeks. In truly decentralized projects and assets, one can only cut oneself. Let's take a look at the development history of Bitcoin and the history of shitcoins.
Then we find that any coin that can develop and break through high multiples cannot be on a continuous rise. However, in the current mixed environment, finding a hundredfold or thousandfold coin is not impossible; it’s just that you didn’t discover it in its early development. Recently, I found a project with strong potential on the BSC chain, driven by a powerful Luffy community, a group of Straw Hat Pirates upholding the Luffy spirit is promoting it.
