Yesterday, I saw a foreign brother post a commemorative video that spanned 11 years, witnessing Bitcoin rise from $100 to $100,000. I couldn't help but feel nostalgic, especially with many old OGs reminiscing about the past these days. My thoughts were unknowingly pulled back to 11 years ago when I first encountered #Bitcoin ... Well then, shall we talk about it?
Below, this is my story with Bitcoin👇
The story began on the morning of March 26, 2013, when I casually retweeted something on Weibo, which opened the door to a new world for me... At that time, cryptocurrency was still a relatively niche circle, mainly attracting geek players who loved to tinker with digital gadgets. I had just started college, had plenty of free time, and perhaps because of my engineering background, I dove headfirst into the realm of 'tech tinkering,' mingling in various forums about smartphones, PCs, and other digital products.
During that period, I also followed many digital bloggers on Weibo, including Hard Brother, who was one of the earliest guides that brought me into the circle. I began my Bitcoin mining journey following him... Initially, I used my laptop; later, I tried mining with a desktop at an internet café, but the difference wasn't significant. By 2013, various professional mining machines had already appeared, and the competition for hash power was extremely fierce; computer graphics cards could no longer meet the demand.
At that time, it was the first wave of the bull market in the spring of 2013. I remember that less than a week after I learned to mine, Bitcoin broke through $100. Then the media started to pay a lot of attention. As someone who had a certain influence in the circle at that time, I recall Hard Brother was even interviewed by CCTV. In just a month or two, it rose from a few dollars to over $100, and everyone felt the bubble was too big. I remember Hard Brother saying that colleagues who bought with him exited early.
In fact, I too have been like this. Perhaps it’s due to my character that I instinctively dislike speculation. This led me to only purchase Bitcoin during the following eight years, and it always occupied a small share in my personal investment portfolio, without any leverage, ultimately making me miss out on the main upward waves in the market. I will elaborate on this later; so indeed, 'character determines fate.'
After a while, I felt that mining with my computer was not cost-effective, as it affected usage and damaged the graphics card. So, I decided to spend some money to buy a little, just to experience it. However, since I was still in school and had limited pocket money, I registered an exchange account and bought a few dozen dollars' worth. At that time, Bitcoin was already around $100, so I couldn't even buy a complete coin for a few dozen dollars.
Back then, the largest exchange in China was still called Bitcoin China, and platforms like Huobi and OK had not yet emerged. At that time, the most well-known exchange globally was still Mt.Gox. The establishment of today's industry leader, Binance, would have to wait another four years. Ah, thinking about it, ten years have passed, and things have changed so much... Of course, due to my natural aversion to speculation, I sold after a slight rise and missed the second wave at the end of the year when it rose to over $1,000, including the policy-induced crash.
Then I continued my 'tech tinkering' career. Besides continuing to post on forums, I would also find time to do some part-time work in digital cities during my holidays. Additionally, I participated in some smartphone brand launch events and organized offline activities, even submitting articles and reviews of digital products to the media. This eventually led me to secure my first job as a tech media reporter during my internship in graduation season.
Let me interject here. During this time, I was fortunate enough to become a small internet celebrity in the mining community. If you frequented the forums around 2014-2015, you probably saw my long posts, which were serialized for over a year and frequently topped 6,000 replies. So, I suppose my current role was foreshadowed back then.
Since I had been active on forums, I kept an eye on Bitcoin. I distinctly remember that I originally planned to use my first month's salary to buy some Bitcoin to make up for not having enough back then. However, after years of not paying attention, I found that Bitcoin had risen to $600-700, and ultimately still thought it was too expensive to buy...
Then, throughout 2017, I joined a startup team and was busy with work, glamorously missing the entire bull market. I don't even have a memory of incidents like 94, let alone the ICO boom of that year. Of course, according to my character, even if I had paid attention, I wouldn't have participated in those projects I didn't understand. As for Bitcoin, I might have bought a few thousand dollars' worth and probably got out early. Leveraging was definitely out of the question, so I remained distanced from wealth...
Later, by the end of 2017, as Bitcoin and Ethereum skyrocketed, the entire blockchain concept became popular. BTC directly broke through $10,000 that year, reaching the $20,000 mark. At that time, our company happened to be in the recharge payment sector, which was somewhat related to this technology. There were also programmers in the company following it, so we discussed many topics related to it in our work group.
Just as the project was not progressing smoothly, the boss was preparing to change direction and raise some funds, and asked the operations director to head to Beijing to find some people. They planned to incorporate something similar to NetEase's star ball within the app to ride the blockchain wave. Of course, it ultimately didn't materialize, and the funding didn't come through. After a major overhaul of the team, I began to think about whether to return to the familiar media industry.
Since I was quite interested in investments, I also started learning to invest in U.S. stocks and allocated a portion to Bitcoin. Thus, I joined a financial media company as a reporter. At that time, the blockchain concept was indeed very popular, with various forums and summits emerging endlessly. However, due to the direction of the business, it hadn't fully integrated tightly with today's crypto space; I mostly interacted with internet companies or fintech firms.
At that time, various chaotic phenomena were also emerging one after another. A colleague encountered a direct crackdown by JC at the venue... I didn't really understand why some people bought those speculative air coins. Perhaps it was due to my own character; I missed the craziest cycle and didn't get involved, which naturally helped me avoid financial losses during the downturn and some unnecessary troubles.
Later, I got acquainted with a local agency investment company because I had a friend working there. I met one of the heads and, after chatting, felt it was quite speculative. They wanted to invite me to handle marketing and offered me a high salary and carry. However, after discussing it with the boss at the company, I felt it was unreliable, so I didn't take it. Otherwise, I might have completed my original accumulation back then...
Perhaps there was still some idealism left, including my 'desire for stability' character, which helped me avoid major troubles. I later learned that the boss had started in the gray industry, made a lot of money from ICO investments, and then engaged in agency investment, mining farms, etc., acquiring luxury houses, cars, and mistresses. However, every gift from fate has its price; I heard that later he lost 10,000 ETH in contract trading and ended up in a mess...
Later, the market entered a bear phase, and the industry became increasingly chaotic and fearful. I withdrew from the circle to focus on running my own media. I later participated in live-stream selling. Thanks to my experience in financial media, I used my spare time to learn a lot about economics, which laid the foundation for my return to the market. However, I mainly invested in stocks, while holding Bitcoin as a spot asset, hardly checking exchanges. I actually didn't pay attention during the entire DeFi Summer.
Then we reached 2021. The events following the U.S. election at the beginning of the year, which impacted the Capitol Hill, left me in shock. Then there was the Wallstreetbets retail investor battle against Wall Street shorts. Since I usually followed political and economic matters, and having experienced the global pandemic's devastation, I deeply felt that the world would undergo a transformation in a way we had never imagined before—a significant historical change, and cryptocurrency is an essential part of it.
Perhaps I also captured a significant opportunity. My life idol, Elon Musk, started to rally for #doge⚡ after the Wallstreetbets retail investor battle against Wall Street shorts. The revolutionary horn had already been sounded; how could I not join this wave? Inspired, I re-entered the market, and Dogecoin became the second coin I bought.
I was also thinking about making some money to save up capital for my future startup. However, due to my desire for stability, I didn't impulsively start a business. Fortunately, this kept me from falling into a major trap during the economic downturn in the following years. Ultimately, 'character determines fate.' Coincidentally, the 519 incident had just ended, and taking advantage of the market's low mood, I revisited that round of DeFi research and found it was completely different from the air coins of 2018.
The emergence of new narratives reignited my enthusiasm, and I entered the industry for the third time. This time it was called Web3. Then, there was this account. I initially just wanted to share my investment insights casually, and it happened that everyone was coming to Twitter, so my account unintentionally grew. I also got to know many friends in the community, which I had never dared to imagine before. This can be considered one of the most important gains after all this time.
Having fully experienced the previous round of the 'eternal bull market' passion, along with the subsequent various blowups, and now witnessing Bitcoin breaking $100,000, I have never made any significant profits or suffered significant losses. Even to this day, I have never opened a contract once. This 'desire for stability' mindset has limited me while also protecting me. I have always felt that my character allowing me to stay in this circle for a long time is, in itself, a 'miracle.'
Ah, I didn't realize I had written so much. So indeed, 'character determines fate.' I clearly recognize that my personality makes it difficult for me to succeed in this market. Of course, I've accepted this point calmly now. Most people are probably the same, quietly cultivating and participating in it, becoming a small molecule in the industry. Those who stand at the forefront and gain the admiration of the masses are always few, while those who fall from grace are numerous.
Just like the vision Satoshi Nakamoto had when he wrote the Bitcoin white paper, this is a revolution initiated by tech geeks against capital oligarchs, and a struggle of meme culture against elite narratives. As a part of the crowd, experiencing such a turbulent era and being swept up in the tides is already fortunate enough. Of course, everyone seeks substantial returns, but this depends on fate. Being overly calculative is futile; it's better to be open-minded. After all, 'success does not have to be attributed to me.'