The story begins with the "ICO craze."

Written by: Eric, Foresight News

Li Yonghao returns to X after 6 years.

On May 13, Beijing time, Li Yonghao simultaneously posted "testing" on his new and old X accounts, announcing his return.

Li Yonghao's new X account had not been updated since June 2020; this time he used his old account for which he "suddenly remembered the password at midnight." The account's cover has been changed to the logo of the podcast "Li Yonghao's Crossroads," and the new tweets also include some past podcast episodes.

However, compared to the podcast, Li Yonghao's personal statements are clearly more entertaining. Since the new account officially started operating, Li Yonghao has already exchanged many words with "crypto enthusiasts." Currently, the pinned tweet on the account is still a reminder not to be deceived by cryptocurrency scams claiming to represent him.

X can be considered the "base camp" of the Web3 industry; Li Yonghao's return undoubtedly involves discussions with active figures in the crypto world. However, if we talk about Li Yonghao's connection to Web3, it may trace back eight years.

2017 and 2018 were the peak years of the "ICO craze" in the cryptocurrency world, recognized as the time when the wealth effects of the first round of tokens exploded. Li Yonghao also expressed on X that if he were shameless, the money he made back then would be enough to buy a small island, "at that time so many scammers came to me, saying I didn't need to show up, as long as I didn't come forward to publicly deny it, they would give me so much."

In May 2018, Li Yonghao complained on Weibo about former Smartisan Technology front-line programmer Wang Qianchuan, "not being diligent at work, spending all day trading cryptocurrencies, and not making much money," and stated that he had previously invested over 1 million yuan in Bitcoin, which had already risen to over 30 million by the time of the Weibo post. According to reports from Observer Network, Wang Qianchuan was infatuated with cryptocurrency trading, causing dissatisfaction from Li Yonghao, which led to such a statement.

This was also the first time Li Yonghao publicly mentioned content related to cryptocurrencies on social media, but his earliest public expression of views on blockchain was at the end of May 2018 during the "Wang Feng's Ten Questions" event.

At that event, Li Yonghao expressed a strong belief that blockchain technology could change the world, and that Smartisan Technology had been actively researching and learning about relevant applications. When asked about blockchain phones, Li Yonghao openly stated, "Blockchain phones will definitely be made, but details are not convenient to disclose."

In addition, Li Yonghao revealed that during the early days of Smartisan Technology, he "followed his friend to join in" and invested 1 million yuan in Bitcoin, which later rose to over 30 million, stating, "I don't like speculative businesses, so I won't spend energy trading cryptocurrencies. Before the relevant national policies are officially released, I won't consider doing an ICO."

Outside speculation suggests that Li Yonghao’s so-called "friend" could very well be Li Xiaolai, who was also an English teacher at New Oriental at the same time as Li Yonghao and became famous overnight in 2017 due to Bitcoin. According to public information, Li Yonghao joined the shareholder ranks of Mixin’s affiliated company Feigeman (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. in 2016, and the shareholders of this company, besides founder Feng Xiaodong, include Li Yonghao’s friend Li Xiaolai.

In February 2023, Li Yonghao exited the shareholder ranks. In September of the same year, Mixin was attacked by hackers, with losses reaching 200 million dollars. Having made 30 times the return on Bitcoin and exiting before the project was attacked, Li Yonghao’s investments in the Web3 industry can be considered successful.

While Li Yonghao was successful in Bitcoin investments, the operation of his company did not go as well. At the end of the year in which he participated in the "Wang Feng's Ten Questions," Smartisan Technology was reported to be facing a cash flow crisis, owing payments to suppliers while dealing with layoffs and disputes. This situation did not improve the following year; in November 2019, Li Yonghao posted on Weibo stating that he was on the court’s restricted consumption list and published an article titled "A 'Deadbeat' CEO’s Confession."

At that time, discussions about Li Yonghao online were heated, and crypto influencers on Weibo were not prepared to miss this flow of attention.

Sun Yuchen was the first to "take action," stating he was willing to offer a million-dollar annual salary to hire Li Yonghao as the spiritual ambassador of Tron, promising to add 10 million if results were positive. Just days before, Li Yonghao had indicated on X that the offer from Sun Yuchen was the "most stingy" among a few that reached out.

At that time, OKEx's Chief Strategy Officer Xu Kun also tweeted expressing hope to invite Li Yonghao to join OKEx.

In response to these invitations, Li Yonghao replied in the early morning, "Thank you to the friends in the cryptocurrency world for thinking of me, but I can also issue coins myself, just haven't planned to do so. Regardless, thank you for your kindness."

More than six years after his last "close encounter" with the crypto world, our "Old Luo" has returned to his former Twitter. Facing this familiar yet unfamiliar environment, his statements have even led many to doubt whether this account is really Li Yonghao himself. Perhaps many people's impressions of Old Luo still linger on his former bluntness, but after the test of time, Li Yonghao's style may have changed, just like the cryptocurrency world in 2017 and the Web3 in 2026—a stark contrast.

Regardless, on this platform, Li Yonghao will inevitably face the magic of the cryptocurrency world. The ever-vigilant Old Luo, after nearly 7 years away from Web3, will once again interact with this industry that once brought him both love and hate, and we can look forward to what new stories will emerge.