Author: Ada, Deep Tide TechFlow

After experiencing the major cleanup on October 11, the cryptocurrency market did not see a retaliatory rebound; instead, it continued to decline in November, with Bitcoin falling below the $90,000 mark and Ethereum dipping to around $2,800.

However, for the seasoned investors in the crypto space, these are not significant issues. They have faced greater volatility, endured harsher cleanups, and even fallen into deeper traps. Those who have weathered the storms often respond to market conditions with a nonchalant "What does this count for?"

Yet, when discussing the past, no one remains unmoved. Some have experienced exchange collapses, others have been cut by so-called insider information, and some have been slaughtered by acquaintances…

Let’s hear their stories and see what memorable ways seasoned investors have lost money in the crypto industry.

Mike: Hit Hard by Exchange Collapse

I am Mike, I entered the crypto space in 2018, and I am now an entrepreneur who has gone through several bull and bear markets and stepped into many traps.

I have two memorable losses.

The first was in 2019 when I sought high returns and put part of my BTC, ETF, and USDT into an exchange for investment because it promised higher expected returns than other exchanges. However, a year later, the exchange collapsed and ran away. The name of this exchange was Fcoin, one of the pioneers of trading mining. At that time, I had just graduated from university, worked hard, lived in a partitioned room, and saved up 1.5 Bitcoins and 20 Ethereums. Just like that, it all went to zero overnight. At the time, it didn’t seem like a particularly large amount, but now it has reached a million-level figure.

The second was in 2020 when I received a tip from an industry friend that a certain altcoin was going to be listed on Binance, so I positioned myself in advance. To make the most of this valuable insider information, I sold two Bitcoins to go all-in on this altcoin, which was about $10,000 per Bitcoin at that time.

Unexpectedly, after selling the Bitcoin, it soared to $40,000, while the heavily invested altcoin plummeted by 70%. Although this altcoin eventually got listed on Binance, it was already meaningless.

Now, I am very cautious about insider information because I do not know if the information reaching me has already been priced in, and it is also possible that it is false information.

Moreover, both the collapses of Fcoin and FTX surprised many, as the crypto industry is always susceptible to black swan events. Therefore, I now also allocate to cold wallets to avoid extreme risks. Additionally, I do not put all my assets in the cryptocurrency market; I also have allocations in US stocks, gold, and fiat currency deposits because there is no such thing as 100% safety in this world. Only by diversifying risks can we reduce the impact of potential future black swan events.

Having gone through so much, I have also developed my own logic for analyzing market trends or projects.

First, I look at where the liquidity is coming from. For example, the current wave of money comes from the high-risk appetite liquidity in the US dollar market, leading to an increasing correlation between Bitcoin and the US stock market, essentially placing Bitcoin at the forefront of liquidity risk appetite. Secondly, I pay attention to the long-term trends of projects, focusing on the team and the founder's vision or intrinsic motivation.

Looking back, I want to tell my past self, who just entered the industry, to be cautious and strategic, but also to believe in the future of the industry, and then to be bolder and more courageous in the right direction, such as accumulating Bitcoin.

Finn: Hackers and Contracts, Lifelong Enemies

My name is Finn, and I am the founder of an agency in the crypto space called BlockFocus.

I vaguely remember that on April 28, 2018, I first charged money on Huobi to buy Bitcoin, and at that time, I didn’t even know what USDT was.

Back then, I saw an article by Mi Meng where Chang Jia gave investment advice to a college student, suggesting to buy Bitcoin and store it in a cold wallet for five years before looking at it again. I was attracted by this idea, and later learned that Chang Jia had a project called BitOriginal Chain, so I used Bitcoin to buy USDT and then used USDT to buy BTM. However, a month later, my BTM lost 80%, leaving me with just over two thousand dollars.

But my first investment failure did not deter me from entering the crypto space; instead, it opened a window for me. In early 2020, I had the opportunity to officially work in the crypto space.

Over the years in the crypto space, I have had two significant losses. The first was at the end of April 2022 when, due to insufficient security awareness and inadequate preventive measures, my wallet was hacked. Most of what was stolen was APX tokens, which later became Aster, with a total value of about $600,000. If it hadn’t been stolen, I would have achieved financial freedom by now.

The other was on October 11 of this year during the major cleanup when my contract was liquidated at the lowest price point, resulting in significant losses. To be honest, I am not a full-time trader; opening this position was purely a gamble, but I didn’t expect to be liquidated so precisely.

In addition to these two instances, I also fell into a trap set by a project team.

Last year, I participated in a project that was valued at less than 100 million at the time, but when it launched this year, it peaked at 4 billion. We had previously agreed on a TGE unlock of 10%, but it has not been unlocked yet, and they say it will be postponed until next year, but when exactly next year is still unclear. I tried to negotiate with the project team for a refund, but it was not possible, so I feel that investors are often quite vulnerable and helpless.

However, I have also identified some promising projects, the most exciting of which is Aster.

Aster was formerly known as APX, and I started supporting it at the end of 2021. It is the only project I have recommended to my friends, and I have also supported it with my actions. After my wallet was hacked, I continued to buy APX.

Why did I believe in it when it was still APX?

Firstly, I have a strong belief in the DEX sector, and at that time, the project was valued very low. Most importantly, I verified from multiple sources that this was an internal project of Binance, not something outsourced or done by former employees. Binance has always been thorough in its projects and would not let internal projects fail, so I dared to bet on it early on.

Over the years, I have experienced ups and downs, seemingly trapped in a cycle, but I still believe this industry is more profitable than others, and being in this space is quite comfortable. It is a circle that allows me to balance work and life. Looking forward to the future, I aim to work hard, avoid contracts, and ski more.

Beyond: Targeted by North Korean Hackers

I am Beyond, known as the Deconstructor on Twitter. I first encountered cryptocurrency in 2021 when I was still a freshman in college.

I clearly remember April 20, 2021. That day, I saw some videos claiming that Dogecoin was about to break $1, and various profit screenshots were shared online, which got me a bit emotionally charged. I deposited $10,000 to open a contract, but that night, I was liquidated.

Although $10,000 doesn’t seem like much now, for me as a college freshman at the time, it represented several months of living expenses. I felt it was too difficult to manage, so I didn’t touch it again until early 2023. At that time, inscriptions were trending, and I participated again, gaining some profits. Due to the economic allure, I immediately decided to make the crypto industry my main focus after graduation.

I have tried various businesses in the crypto space, including creating my own inscriptions, running a yield farming studio, providing technical outsourcing for some projects, and now becoming a KOL, managing my own community and Binance Square. I enjoy this lifestyle that offers ample freedom while also providing decent economic returns.

However, after spending a long time in the crypto space, I inevitably fell into some traps.

The most memorable incident was on August 10 last year when someone disguised as an employee of a well-known VC contacted me privately, inviting me to join them. I felt that making money in the market was becoming increasingly difficult and wanted to find something else to do, so I started interacting with them on Telegram.

After about two weeks of conversation, it felt good, and I found their relevant information on a well-known information platform. We had over 20 mutual friends, including some well-known figures in the industry. All the information presented was very convincing, so I completely trusted them, and when they sent a Google Meeting invitation, I gladly accepted.

But as soon as I entered the platform they provided and clicked the link, all my on-chain assets were cleared, and all my yield farming accounts and Web2 social accounts were stolen, resulting in significant losses. Later, I learned that they were a North Korean hacker organization.

Another time, I failed to realize the paper wealth.

When inscriptions were hot, many hundredfold and thousandfold targets appeared on the Bitcoin chain, but only one hundredfold target emerged on the Ethereum chain. I believed that more hundredfold and thousandfold inscription assets would emerge on the Ethereum chain, so I followed this logic for research and ultimately discovered ETHI. Later, ETHI rose from $3 to a peak of $4,000, validating my investment logic and vision. However, due to my faith in inscriptions, believing they could revolutionize asset issuance, I held onto it without cashing out, ultimately watching it plummet to zero.

But this experience allowed me to glimpse a corner of the crypto space's crazy beneficial effects and indirectly drove me to decide to delve deeper into this circle for related work. Additionally, it reminded me to respect cycles; no narrative can truly last long, and it’s best to take profits when they are available. The only thing worth believing in is Bitcoin.

Looking back, if I hadn’t entered the crypto space, I might have gone through the traditional paths of funds, brokerages, or investment banks, gradually working in the traditional finance industry. However, now, compared to my former classmates, I have a significant advantage in personal development, so I am very grateful for my initial choice and am full of confidence for the future.

Brother Chong: Harvested by Acquaintances

I am Brother Chong. Like many "knowledge payment old users," my crypto enlightenment came from Li Xiaolai's course "The Road to Financial Freedom," and my first cryptocurrency investment was not Bitcoin, but EOS.

Before entering the crypto space, I had followed the "traditional path": I traded stocks, bought funds, and invested in US stocks. But one day, I realized that after working hard for two or three years, a 50% increase in stocks felt pretty good; however, a certain altcoin on-chain could multiply by ten or dozens in just half a month, though it could also go to zero. At that time, I was attracted by this adventurous game.

To say I lost money in the crypto space, I certainly lost a fair amount, but the deepest pit was not "market losses," but rather the traps set by acquaintances.

The most memorable significant loss was not from a specific chain or project, but from trusting a person, which also led to the loss of those who trusted me.

In the first two or three years after entering the space, everyone was still quite "sentimental," especially someone like me, who has a simple personality and values loyalty. A friend brought me into a circle, and then I brought my friends in. Everyone felt "introduced by someone they knew," so they naturally relaxed their guard. However, such circles are often disguised as "projects," "startups," or "blockchain," but in essence, they are pyramid schemes or air coins. In the end, the project failed, the money was lost, and relationships were damaged.

This loss cost me several million, and I later tried to remedy the situation by communicating with the project team and seeking to protect my rights, but the final outcome was the same:

The money could not be recovered, and the relationships could not be salvaged, leaving only disappointment.

After that, I set a strict principle for myself: if I can avoid bringing others into investments, I will, especially for things I haven’t fully understood myself. Because once something goes wrong, you not only lose your own money but also involve relationships, credibility, and emotions, which is too costly.

Although I have fallen into many traps, I will definitely not exit the crypto space. Because this is a global game that does not require extensive social connections to participate. As long as the direction is right, one can level up round by round. This is a lifestyle I enjoy, rather than a "dungeon that ends when you log off."

Now, I have a relatively complete investment logic system, but what truly makes me anxious is not "whether I have a system," but whether I have done enough work according to my logic; how much optimization space this system has; and whether I can productize this system to serve more people.

In this circle, everyone wants to influence you. Project teams hope you believe the stories they tell; KOLs want you to follow them in and out; various groups and social interactions hope to lead you by emotions. But the real starting point is when you begin to stop unconditionally believing in any "authority," can build your own logic, and seek verification and deduction on your own. Before that, you are just an NPC in someone else's system. After that, you may become your own player.

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。