"The biggest floating profit was my salary for 60 years!" Is the cryptocurrency world heaven or hell? 2.43 million times profit in 15 years, who got the wealth?
One day in the cryptocurrency world is like one year in the real world
24/7 global non-stop trading, no price limits, fluctuations of thousands of dollars, rich leverage tools such as futures options, and participants with varying trading levels. In the fifteen years since the birth of BTC, the price of the currency has risen from 3 cents to the current high of more than 70,000 US dollars, accompanied by denial, controversy, and suppression along the way, creating a 2.43 million-fold increase.
The other side of the story is the risk that is endlessly magnified in the decentralized trading model. On the night of March 12, 2020, Bitcoin plummeted from $7,900 to $3,600, a drop of more than 50%, and the contract liquidation exceeded 14 billion yuan. And this is just the tip of the iceberg of wealth destruction.
Even in a bull market, large-scale liquidations happen frequently. On January 9th, BTC fell below $40,000, followed by frequent dramatic fluctuations. On the evening of the 10th, it experienced a cliff-like drop, plunging nearly a thousand dollars multiple times, followed by sharp rises. Early on January 11th, Bitcoin's price dropped again by over 12%, reaching a low of $33,447, equivalent to a nearly $6,000 drop in just one day, with a 24-hour drop of over 20%, causing 200,000 liquidations with a total amount of 13.7 billion.
After struggling around the $10,000 point for more than three years, BTC kicked off a magnificent bull market at the end of 2020. At that time, the price of $40,000 was already more than double the previous peak, and the bulls again raised the banner of 'to the moon,' while the bears did not give up and continued to resist. BTC fluctuated and reached new highs.
However, in various groups, the once bustling 'retail investors' were now 'quiet,' and the atmosphere hadn't warmed up yet. A contract trader described it this way: I sold BTC early and now don't dare to buy back, holding onto a bunch of altcoins that aren't rising, those who missed out are still missing out.
This is an insomniac battleground, with whales like 'Grayscale' holding hundreds of billions, influencing the market, as well as small-time 'new retail investors' eager to try their luck; there are many 'brick movers' coding and trading high-frequency at all hours, and also those who invest against the trend to support their beliefs; some become rich overnight, while others wait in vain for their original investment back, and some gamble away their fortunes and lives.
They meet in this market, engage with each other, and write completely different endings.
Amin | The highest floating profit was equivalent to my 60 years of salary
35 years old, maintenance worker, trading coins for 7 years
I started trading coins at the end of 2013. At that time, I saw a report saying BTC had risen to 400 yuan, so I did some research. The first purchase I made was a well-known domestic altcoin at that time. I didn't dare to invest much, so I only deposited 100 yuan and bought 10 yuan worth. As a result, it increased tenfold within three days, and I withdrew cash through Alipay. After that, I continued to trade small amounts until Bitcoin first broke through 7,000 yuan.
That time, I deposited 10,000 yuan and went all in. This was about three months of my salary, and I bought RXP at that time for 0.4 yuan. In the end, it fell terribly, to a point where I couldn't bear to look. At the lowest, it was only a few hundred yuan, but I never sold it. Because I was reluctant. The 10,000 yuan turned into just a few hundred, selling it would have no meaning, so I persisted until 2017.
2017 was a great bull market. Between May and July, XRP rose to 2 yuan, and I sold a total of 30,000 yuan, which my wife strongly urged me to sell. If I had waited until December that year, I could have sold for over 500,000. This experience of selling too early has also laid the groundwork for my later high points without cashing out.
During the market peak in 2013, the central bank issued restrictive policies, leading to a sharp drop in BTC, which left a deep impression on me. Therefore, during the extremely hot market in June and July 2017, I felt that if BTC reached a new high, there would definitely be policies to suppress it, so I waited, wanting to buy when the price dropped.
Looking back now, I think my thought process was correct, but the awkward thing is that on September 3rd, I finally couldn't hold back and bought some. Then on September 4th, the central bank and seven ministries issued a document cutting off ICOs, leading to a drastic drop in coin prices.
At that time, I didn't have much money, but in September and October, I bought about 20,000 yuan worth of coins, specifically EOS and Loopring. Around mid-October, I convinced my wife to agree to invest more money, and she finally agreed to take out another 100,000 yuan, while my mom also gave me 30,000. After September 2017, ICOs became popular, and I invested 130,000 in seven ICO projects, then I caught a wave of a magnificent bull market, with profits peaking at 1.8 million yuan in December.
I was overly confident at first, feeling like I was the protagonist, just like in a stand-up comedy, feeling as if heaven had chosen me, it was a kind of disordered feeling. At that time, my salary was only 3,000 yuan a month, and 1.8 million was equivalent to 60 years of income. But looking back now, I was really foolish then, not cashing out. By February 2018, when Bitcoin plummeted, I still thought it could rise more, I was greedy and didn't cash out.
Throughout February, BTC kept falling. My assets were around 400,000 to 600,000, and I had no cash in hand, which made me anxious. Suddenly, one of the ICO projects surged against the trend, and I hurriedly seized the opportunity to sell, making about 170,000. Later, I invested another 100,000 into WICC's ICO, and with the remaining 70,000, I added another 30,000 to invest in a project, which later failed, and that 100,000 was lost.
Later, during the second surge of Bitcoin, WICC brought me nearly tenfold returns. Ultimately, I sold for 300,000, with 200,000 converted to cash and the other 100,000 into Bitcoin. Originally, I wanted to sell half for 500,000 or even sell all. But my wife wouldn't let me, and I wavered, thinking it could rise even higher. Looking back now, I was greedy at that time.
I used the 200,000 yuan I cashed out as a down payment for a house, and I randomly invested several tens of thousands in ICOs. This was in 2018. Looking back now, I gained nothing from the crypto world, but it gave me courage. I had never thought about buying a house before, but when I had money, I bought one.
As time transitioned into early 2019, BTC reached historical lows, and my altcoins did as well. In May 2019, BTC rose significantly, and I sold all my coins for USDT, totaling around 350,000 yuan.
I feel that the events of 2013 will definitely repeat, as Bitcoin plummeted under policy suppression. So I have been holding cash, doing small trades in between, winning and losing. By October, my 350,000 turned into 300,000. In late October that year, news broke that the Central Political Bureau collectively studied blockchain, and Bitcoin surged, changing my beliefs. So I went all in at the price of $10,000 and held onto 300,000, at the lowest point only 180,000 remained. Later, when Bitcoin hit $8,250 in January 2020, I sold everything for a total of 220,000.
During that time, I had a strange habit of crazily listening to various investment and financial advice courses, and I came across leverage. At that time, there was a new concept, 'triple leverage coin never liquidates,' and I was tempted. At the same time, the price of Bitcoin was around $10,000, and I didn't dare to buy, wanting to wait for a drop before purchasing. So I fully invested in a triple leverage coin. But later, Kuang'an surprisingly delisted that leverage coin, and before the delisting, all leverage coins were forcibly settled at the market price at that time, resulting in a settlement of $700.
I was unwilling to accept it, so I secretly deposited 35,000 yuan as a short position, which fell to just 20,000 yuan. After exiting, I completely calmed down for half a year. This month, I started again and just turned 20,000 into 35,000-40,000 yuan.
Since March 12, 2020, my beliefs have changed. I used to be purely bullish, but now I also look bearish at times. But I estimate I will still be educated.
Additionally, there was a bonus: the Loopring I bought in 2017 participated in a long-term lock-up plan, and I just withdrew it on January 4th, selling for 90,000 yuan. I didn’t expect that if I sold it now, it could fetch 150,000, which is frustrating. Now, I find myself at another crossroads: should I continue to play with this money or take it out to support my family? Because now my total funds have exceeded 100,000, while I still earn a monthly salary of 3,000.
Over the years, I feel like the crypto world has been too volatile, which has been a huge blow to faith. Objectively speaking, I have been lucky, but my strength has been weak. The money made by luck was all lost by strength. But I still want to try, to see if I can get rich once. Of course, it must be under the premise of not going into debt and not affecting life, as life is the most important.
Now I feel so conflicted; today I think about making 1 million, but by tomorrow, I just hope not to lose money. I used to feel somewhat inferior, but not anymore, and I’m brave enough to laugh at myself. I should learn more; I’m just an ordinary person, just occasionally lucky.
