Three years ago, Xiao Bei was still lining up downstairs at the company to buy a 9.9 yuan Luckin coffee. I sent him 100 DOGE as a red envelope in the group chat, and he quickly sold it for a latte. Later, every time he glanced at the K-line, he could smell the bitter aroma of coffee.

He asked me, "Teacher, is the crypto world a gold mine or a crematorium?"

I countered, "Have you ever seen the K-line at two in the morning? It looks like an ECG; every time it jumps, you lose a minute of sleep."

He actually went to check it out. That year, he set his alarm for 2:30, the ringtone was silent, just to light up the screen and watch the numbers twist his heart into various shapes: one thousand, three thousand, five thousand... His account was like a beach repeatedly washed by waves, always waking up to find half gone.

One winter night, he hoarsely sent a voice message: "Bro, I can't hold on anymore; I'll pull out once I break even." I agreed. He hung up the phone, liquidated his DOGE at 0.09 dollars after holding for 14 months. Four days later, DOGE surged to 0.7. He was smoking on the balcony, the ash falling onto someone else's freshly hung "Freedom" T-shirt below.

He came to find me for drinks, cursing the crypto world as a scam. I pushed my phone over: a tweet from January 2021 stated, "DOGE is air, a bubble, a joke of infinite issuance," retweeted by Musk; another read, "What makes Bitcoin worth sixty thousand dollars? Because we all believe." The more people believe, the harder the air becomes.

I told him: The crypto world has never been about economics, but about human hearts; what’s most scarce is the patience to wait.

Later, he stopped using high leverage. He worked during the day, studied at night, and came to my house for tea on weekends. I shared a note I wrote to myself in 2020:

"Before having money, trade your life for chips; after having money, trade chips for time."

In 2024, DOGE was once again driven up by whales. Xiao Bei's account only had the 10 commemorative coins I had sent him. He pushed his notebook over: "Bro, this time I won’t chase; I will wait."

I turned the light toward him: "The light is always on; you have to walk the road yourself."

The digital economy is irreversible, and the virtual must return. If you have empty hands, you should look up at this beam of light—not to urge you to go ALL IN, but to remind you: chips ultimately belong to those who are willing to stay up late to study, not to those who stay up late to gamble.

Xiao Bei stood up and waved his hand. I knew that tonight he would not be awakened by his heartbeat again. The light is on; when dawn breaks, he will light the fire himself. @小花生说币