Web3 is never short of legendary stories.
These stories, whether surprising, like a New Oriental English teacher cashing out BTC to become a billionaire; or heartwarming, like a butcher achieving great success; or shocking, like a guest being taken away by FBI agents during a speech; or mysterious, like a big shot paying a fortune to escape tracking by throwing himself into the sea, ultimately become a staircase to wealth freedom amidst the embellishments of those in the crypto circle.
Is getting rich that simple? In a recent article titled (Young People Leaving Web3: Desire, Illusion, Turbulence, Reality), after experiencing various changes and disappointments, some young individuals choose to leave the so-called get-rich circle. After the article was published, many users expressed the desire to understand the survivors in the crypto circle.
To this end, I contacted several lucky individuals who have made a million in Web3. Among them are veterans who have been involved in Web3 for many years, crypto miners who have survived bull and bear markets, young college students in the prime of their lives, and even those who have been imprisoned. After earning this money, some continue to strive, delving into the upstream of the industry chain; some follow a path of dependency and gain and lose; some enjoy life while accompanying unspoken emptiness; and some regain their lives and strive to live. They have the blessing of luck and the courage to take risks, ultimately giving back to the circle as a collection of confidence-boosting manuals that help Web3 people endure the long night.
From the perspective of social evolution, we have transitioned from an agricultural society satisfying basic needs to an industrial society liberating hands, and now to a consensus society extending the spirit. In today's increasingly detailed social division of labor, the phrase 'lying flat' has become commonplace, with hope and imagination becoming the light that young people chase. As an organic product of social development with an excess of imagination, there will always be some people who detest the risks and hype of the Web3 circle, while others vehemently curse the scams. But ultimately, there are still people who opened Pandora's box amid chaotic growth.
In the test of human nature and survivor bias, stories of sudden wealth are unfolding.
"Investing is a game of human nature"
Chang Lei 27, project operations
Chang Lei is about the same age as I am but has been in the circle for 8 years. When mentioning Web3, his eyes sparkled, and he spoke confidently and openly. He firmly believes that Web3 can change lives, and here is his self-narration:
I attended university in Changzhou, where I first encountered virtual currency in my sophomore year in 2016. I have always been fond of tinkering with new things and was very curious. Before officially coming into contact with virtual currency, I earned my daily living expenses by brushing orders and recruiting people online. Then I noticed that high-priced orders often appeared, which caught my attention.
Later, I discovered that it was playing with the cloud miner, which was quite popular at the time. You could earn Wangke coins by registering and purchasing hard drives for mining. At that time, I didn't think much of it, mainly making money from brushing orders, but I also got to know about cryptocurrencies for the first time. Subsequently, I brushed some pyramid scheme coin mining orders and made several thousand yuan. After that, I started to get in touch with virtual currencies. Someone in an order brushing group recommended BTC, saying it was digital gold, so I bought some and unexpectedly made a few tens of thousands in 2017. One could say that during my college years, virtual currency supported my expenses, and I lived a colorful life, indulging in pleasures.
Afterward, when BTC fell out of favor, I also invested in pyramid scheme coins but ended up not making any money. However, it served as a warning to me that if you want to make money, you must extend the cycle. Since then, I started doing research, providing insights in the Web3 circle. At that time, many content platforms had already emerged, and registering could earn you money; I also picked up some free offers.
After graduating in 2018, my family went through a change, and I was unable to liquidate all my virtual currency. I borrowed some money to repay debts. To pay off the debts, I worked various jobs, including kitchen work, distributing flyers, and writing white papers, taking on multiple part-time jobs each day. During the most difficult times, I had to use one card to pay off another, feeling particularly anxious. I realized that working part-time wouldn't earn much money, so I focused more on research in the crypto circle. In fact, looking at the entire circle, 2020 was a pivotal year. Before that, many projects could only be studied through white papers and endorsements, telling stories. After the summer of 2020, with the rise of DeFi, the importance of products became apparent, and users could actually experience them. For me, this was a valuable opportunity, as I experienced most of the popular protocols on the market at that time, such as Uniswap, Compound, Aave, etc.
This circle is different in that it provides real returns to early participants, unlike Web2 where participants are stepped on while companies go public. The most typical form of return is airdrops. In September, during the UNI airdrop, I received UNI worth 800 USD when the coin price was 3 USD, but I believed UNI had potential and never sold it. By 2021, it indeed rose above 10 USD. There is also ENS; domain names are a fundamental infrastructure, especially for lengthy crypto addresses. At that time, I registered domain names with over 30 accounts and later unexpectedly received a large airdrop. I also received airdrops from Loot, DYDX, and 1INCH, which were also considerable incomes.
There are many stories that follow, including borrowing money for mining, buying running shoes, Farmer World, NFTs, etc. When digital collectibles were hot in the country, I also played with ibox, unique, and 18 digital collections, but ironically, I lost money in the domestic market, and Luna also caused me a loss. Since graduating, it has been almost 4 years, and my wallet balance is definitely over 1 million. I am quite satisfied, although I can't compare with the big shots running around in A8 and A9, and I didn't get rich overnight, but I can already live a decent life. Currently, I am working in operations for a project party, working from home, and continuing to research opportunities.
For those reading this article and wanting to enter the circle, I want to say that my money-making experience really doesn’t apply to now. During the rapid development period, there were many opportunities, and money would actively seek people. Now, people are chasing after money; the times are different. And most importantly, investing is a game of human nature. Don't overestimate yourself, nor underestimate others.
"1 million came and went"
Li Qing 35, freelancer
I entered the circle through a friend's introduction. Before that, I had been involved in selling DVDs, and my income was quite good. After a few years, I had savings of about 300,000. I remember it was April 2013. At that time, I was eating with friends, and someone was in the mining machine business, saying that BTC could make money, and all you needed to do was buy some machines to make money at home. I had no knowledge of digital currency and didn't understand hashing power, accounting rights, etc. So I was half-believing, even thinking it was just talk after eating and drinking. However, since I had a close relationship with my friend, I thought he wouldn't deceive me, so I contacted him and said I could go see the business opportunity.
His mining machines were placed in the basement of a villa in Langfang. I drove for 2 hours to see about 40 machines inside, making a lot of noise. I was very curious after seeing it, as virtual currency is invisible and intangible. How can one make money? However, I personally believe that the risk of this business is not high, as it does not require management, and I can continue doing trade, which is essentially fixed assets generating continuous profits.
At that time, the mining machine market was already dominated by centralized mining pools. Driven by curiosity and friends' suggestions, I purchased two 7850 and 270x graphics card 6-card mining machines from a friend for Litecoin, with a total price of over 20,000, and hosted them in a friend's villa, with electricity costs around 0.55 per kilowatt-hour. Shortly after, Litecoin was rising steadily, and I quickly recouped my investment. I was immediately attracted to this simple and effective business and purchased three more. However, Litecoin crashed below the cost line, and I lost over 20,000.
But after this, I did not get discouraged. Instead, I tasted the sweetness of mining and began to deeply research mining machines and cryptocurrencies. Not only did I pay for learning, but I also traded coins myself, making a small profit, which laid the foundation for my subsequent confidence. In 2016, I believed that small coins were volatile and unreliable, so I chose to mine Bitcoin directly. At that time, the market was also quite good, and I bought 20 second-hand S7 machines and hosted them in a friend's mining farm, earning about 1,000 to 2,000 daily. Money came very quickly, and I became even more addicted, completely giving up on the small DVD and minor product selling business that was hard to manage. On the other hand, I collaborated with the channel owner in Huaqiangbei to sell mining machines, mainly S9L3 and A3 models, earning between 300 to 500 per machine, with the highest profit reaching 7,000 yuan.
Later, I coincidentally met several friends running mining farms, who had some government connections and were preparing to relocate to Sichuan to set up a data center. I seized the opportunity to raise money to invest, officially becoming a small miner. At its peak, we operated 300 mining machines, with daily electricity costs exceeding 9,000. 2017 was also a bull market, and Bitcoin prices skyrocketed, leading to my own significant profits. After the 9.4 policy was released, BTC plummeted, and in 2018, the mining farm was no longer profitable and even incurred losses. I cashed out my shares and mining machines, ultimately earning over 3 million.
But it is worth mentioning that in 2019, Filcoin was very popular. I relied on my previous experience to buy interstellar mining machines again to continue making money. However, this economic model is very complex. In addition to common costs like mining machines and technical service fees, hosting fees, miners also need to stake coins. The staked coins require a linear release over 180 days. In fact, the biggest safety net for the coin price is the miners. Although I sensed something was wrong, I still invested 1 million, and to make a long story short, I lost everything.
After that, I turned to trading coins and learned a lesson about losing money. I realized that trading coins and mining are essentially two different businesses. After 2021, my previous peers in the mining industry either washed their hands of it or moved overseas. However, I still believe that DeFi mining is a good opportunity. In 2022, the black swan market was not good; this year I will continue to invest, as it is very difficult to completely exit this circle once you are in it.
"The Lucky Ones in the Animal Coin Market"
Zuo 22, college student
I entered the circle after the 2020 New Year. Due to a sum of pocket money, I started searching online for investment methods, which led me to discover BTC and virtual currencies. However, due to my lack of understanding of the circle, I was first heavily scammed before I made any money.
At that time, I joined a group, where the group leader was also a senior from my school, who enthusiastically shared knowledge about the coin circle, telling group members how to buy low and sell high, how to judge trends and information sources, and held considerable authority in the group. I must say, a lot of the knowledge was very effective, and at that time, the market was also pretty good. While trading spot and playing DeFi, I made about 20,000 yuan. Initially, I learned the basic knowledge about the circle from here, but of course, I soon realized that there’s no free lunch.
Immediately, everyone in the group responded actively, fearing to miss out on the opportunity to get rich. Looking back, I now think those people were probably all shills, but I was still naive and immediately invested all my money, hoping to sit back and get rich. As a result, I didn’t receive the coins, and I was kicked out of the group. At that time, I felt very confused and didn't know how to pursue it. I had no way to express my grievances. Later on, I found out through several twists and turns that he had been scammed by his sponsor, and in the end, I didn't get my money back.
Later, I was unwilling to exit the scene, borrowed 15,000 from a friend to continue investing. That period was very bleak. Even when the market was good, I couldn’t withstand my lack of investment research knowledge and blindly took risks, suffering various losses, including losses from dog coins, contracts, NFTs, Pi Xiu schemes, etc. In between, I was also scammed out of 2,000 yuan through a phishing link, which was worse than dollar-cost averaging Bitcoin. I was down for a while. My family thought it was a school issue and encouraged me to travel. At that time, I just felt particularly sorry for my family. Now I want to tell everyone that my success was purely due to luck. Getting rich in this circle is really not that simple. You have to genuinely conduct research and battle with yourself.
Then the turning point came. Luckily enough, I encountered the first, and perhaps the last, hundredfold coin in my life. In March 2021, I stumbled upon SHIB on Twitter. I am a pet lover, and I really wanted to raise a Shiba Inu, but due to family objections, I gave up. Therefore, my previous NFT investments were also pet-related, not the widely sought-after cyberpunk. At that time, SHIB was very cheap, and I had forgotten how many zeros were after the decimal point. I bought 50 yuan worth, which was about 7 USD, and ended up collecting nearly 10 billion coins, without the intention of making money, just for fun, occasionally transferring a few to friends for amusement.
On May 7, Musk suddenly replied that he was looking for a Shiba Inu. My friend saw this and jokingly shared it with me, saying that Musk shares the same hobby as ordinary people. We didn't think much of it at the time, but then things took a strange turn. That day, SHIB suddenly surged, increasing by 200% within 24 hours. However, it was finals week at school, and I was busy cramming before the exam, so I didn’t follow the market. The next day, my friend called me, excitedly asking how much SHIB I had. That was when I realized my total holdings exceeded 1 million. Surprisingly, I wasn't feeling excited or happy at that moment, but rather confused, my mind blank, and even a bit scared, feeling it was unbelievable. I trembled as I clicked on my wallet to clear the order, my hands shaking. That night, I went to the artificial lake in school and shouted, chased by security all the way, exhilarated but unable to sleep all night.
Later, SHIB was listed on Binance, and the price continued to rise. I regret that I couldn't hold on to it and subsequently added another 100,000. However, a few days later, SHIB crashed, and the price approached zero. Withdrawing was actually quite troublesome, KYC, OTC, and various pitfalls; I almost fell into some traps, but fortunately, I managed to withdraw. I am a person who believes in destiny. After making money, I donated some to the Hope Fund and then dollar-cost averaged some BTC. Now I generally don’t look at the market. Fortunately, Luna and FTX did not affect me. This June, I am about to graduate from college, but I feel no urgency at all, as I already have a substantial amount of savings. I feel bored now watching my classmates work hard for internships and jobs. It seems I have lost my direction, and I plan to study abroad for a one-year master's program before considering my future path.
"From pyramid schemes to the coin circle"
Liu Qiang 33, catering practitioner
Among many people, Liu Qiang was recommended by a friend after several twists and turns. He also declined multiple interview invitations from the writer, stating that his experience was not representative. When I met him, he was busy in the kitchen of a Sichuan restaurant, and the surrounding smoke made his face seem somewhat unreal. I once doubted if he was the actual person, as it was hard to connect his small stature and black-framed glasses with a pyramid scheme crime.
I am from Chongqing. Due to poor grades, I dropped out of high school in 2009. I understood that I was not suited for this path. After dropping out, my family arranged for me to learn cooking, hoping I would have a skill to support myself. However, I didn't like the heavy smell of oil, and it was just about washing vegetables and practicing knife skills, plus being scolded by the chef. After graduating in 2011, I naturally entered a restaurant. After work, I would wash twice to get rid of the sticky feeling, feeling physically and mentally exhausted. Moreover, my family didn't think much of my job; although my salary was not low at the time, they always felt it was hard-earned money. I had a lot of resentment in my heart and always wanted to prove myself.
In 2013, I met a group of friends who were working on an online investment trading platform. As long as you registered as a member, you could exchange points and make profits by buying and selling. You could also earn commissions through profits and develop offline to make money, with the investment amount being shareable. I actually realized at that time that it was a pyramid scheme, but I couldn’t resist various temptations and brainwashing that touched my soft spot for making money. I ultimately spent 5,000 to register as a member and learned various pyramid scheme tricks through regular study and sharing. It was essentially using human nature to scam money. Subsequently, I conducted online promotion and offline group gathering to develop to 10 people, and I was considered to have mixed into the mid-to-high level of the organization, earning hundreds to thousands daily, making money easily.
I became inflated, raising my standards for living expenses. I finally had a chance to show off in front of my family. However, the good times didn't last long, as the organization was reported and taken down. But having gotten used to gaining without effort, I didn't realize the risks and instead saw it as a good opportunity to get ahead. In this distorted mentality, I decided to replicate this model with my previous sponsor to swindle more money.
To avoid risks, I specifically chose direct sales as a method with a product medium. However, the actual operation is similar; the goods are just a pretense. In terms of credibility, we attracted new customers through offline stores, as having a physical address can reduce others' suspicions. Through various operations, we successfully attracted over 60 members, and the total cash amount exceeded 800,000. At that time, I didn’t understand much, but I heard that BTC could be used for anonymous money laundering. In August 2014, I bought nearly 300,000 BTC, about 80 coins, intending to transfer the ill-gotten gains. Coincidentally, after 2015, BTC kept falling, and the total value once dropped to 140,000, which was a huge blow to me.
It was at this time that the pyramid scheme was exposed. Although I had been hiding, I was still found by others. My family was shocked, and the situation was very chaotic. I took out all my savings to compensate, and my family also scrambled to gather money. In the end, the amount was almost negligible, and it was unfortunate that Chongqing was cracking down on pyramid schemes, and I ran into the law. I was ultimately sentenced to 2 years, with a 2-year probation. After this incident, my family was very disappointed in me, and I was scared myself, as having a criminal record greatly affected my ability to start a family and establish a career.
I haven't sold my BTC at all. On one hand, I was afraid of being linked to money laundering, and on the other hand, community corrections and regular reports made me worry that suddenly having a large sum of money would have implications. In your words, it’s a forced lock-up. In 2017, I finished my probation, and BTC soared. I realized it was an opportunity but couldn’t hold on, selling it at over 12,000 yuan, thus making nearly 1 million in profit. When I made money, I felt a mix of gratitude for past experiences and helplessness. However, for me now, none of that is important. With this money, I opened a Sichuan restaurant, which struggled during the pandemic, but fortunately, we survived. Now life has finally returned to normal.
Postscript
For ordinary people struggling in concrete jungle cities, whether sweating or mentally exhausted, 1 million is not an easily reachable wealth.
This may be the reason why Web3 is so tempting. It offers opportunities for small investments to yield large returns, using time as a wager against the backdrop of a rigid class structure, fulfilling the unspoken desires and ambitions of contemporary young people. With soaring housing prices, a difficult job market to navigate, and being trapped in cubicles, is it fair to simply blame Web3 as just a politically correct slogan in this absurd society where young people even need to shout out?
In today's society, it's time to reflect on one's own problems.