Tsinghua University is the "dream school" in the hearts of countless students, but its admission score line discourages many candidates every year. However, there was a man named Guo Hongcai, who only scored 300 points in the college entrance examination, but also appeared in the Tsinghua classroom.
However, he was not a genuine student of Tsinghua University. He was able to attend classes at Tsinghua University simply by relying on his "thick skin". Unexpectedly, learning broadened his horizons and he eventually became "Erye Bao".
The rise of the “diaosi” in the cryptocurrency world
Guo Hongcai's youth had nothing to do with the word "academic bully". Skipping classes and not doing homework were common occurrences for him. He claimed to be a future "Tsinghua talent", but he wasted his time in Internet cafes.
Although scoring only 300 points on the college entrance exam shattered his Tsinghua dream, he was unwilling to give up. He resolutely chose to migrate to Beijing, and even though he was confused and lost, he never abandoned his dream of a 'comeback'.
After arriving in Beijing, he chose to audit classes at Tsinghua University, which he had long dreamed of. To make a living, he attended classes during the day and sold pirated CDs on the street at night.
Although this life was full of hardships, it also tempered his will, making his desire for money even stronger.
Later, unable to bear the pressure of life, Guo Hongcai embarked on a cycling journey to Tibet, where he met Jin Yangyang, the woman who would change his fate.
Jin Yangyang was a female college student from Sichuan. She was attracted to Guo Hongcai's indomitable spirit, and the two quickly fell in love and got married.
Subsequently, in an era when e-commerce had not yet become widespread, the couple decided to start a business selling Pingyao beef from their hometown.
Guo Hongcai and his wife became the first to taste success, earning their first pot of gold in life. However, the good times did not last long, and with the increasing competition in the e-commerce industry, their online store eventually went bankrupt.
Disheartened, Guo Hongcai heard about 'Bitcoin' from a friend during a drinking session. At first, he was skeptical about Bitcoin, believing that virtual currencies could not make people rich overnight.
However, as friends around him gradually made a fortune with Bitcoin, he began to waver. Drawing on some knowledge he had acquired from attending lectures at Tsinghua University, he quickly delved into the Bitcoin market.
At the same time, his wife Jin Yangyang also launched a Bitcoin interview program (Yangyang Talks), with the couple taking on the roles of knowledge output and content presentation, quickly gaining fame in the crypto space and becoming what is known as 'experts'.
In 2014, Guo Hongcai established the world's largest Bitcoin mine at that time. He transformed from a 'loser' selling beef into 'Lord Bao' of the crypto space, achieving a leap in social class.
'Harvesting Chives' Carnival
After becoming 'Lord Bao', Guo Hongcai's ambition began to swell. He saw the tremendous 'money landscape' in the crypto space and decided to personally engage in 'harvesting chives'.
In the early years, a large number of air coin projects emerged domestically. These projects often had no real value but attracted investors with promises of high returns.
Guo Hongcai did just that, using his fame and influence to endorse these air coin projects, earning huge commissions in the process. It was reported that he made about 1 billion yuan just from endorsements.
In 2017, Chinese regulatory authorities halted the issuance of virtual currencies, and the scam of air coins was gradually exposed. However, Guo Hongcai did not back down. He launched a project called 'Ku Shen Wallet', claiming that by purchasing this hardware wallet, one could receive ten times the return in six months.
This project attracted a large number of investors, quickly raising over 100 million yuan in just a few days. However, six months later, investors found that they had not received the promised returns and instead lost their principal. Guo Hongcai's scam was exposed, and he quickly fled to the United States, leaving chaos behind.
In the United States, Guo Hongcai did not hold back; instead, he became even more reckless, spending huge sums to purchase a mansion, naming it 'Chives Manor', and planting chives there to mock the investors he had 'harvested'.
Not only that, he also spent a fortune buying his wife a luxury car, reportedly the only one of its kind in the entire United States. He frequently showcased his extravagant lifestyle, not just to flaunt wealth, but to attract more people into the Bitcoin market.
He was so arrogant that after Musk acquired Twitter, he claimed from a distance that he would become Twitter's CEO. When this post was published, netizens at home and abroad were shocked.
The result was that Musk himself personally debunked the matter, stating that Guo Hongcai's post was made up, and that the Twitter CEO would be succeeded by a woman.
He transformed from a college entrance exam failure and a vendor selling pirated CDs into a 'big shot' in the crypto space worth billions, which undoubtedly resonated with many people's desire to get rich overnight.
However, Guo Hongcai's success did not stem from true technological innovation or business models; it was built on speculation and hype. He understood human weaknesses deeply, exploiting the public's desire for wealth to weave one 'wealth myth' after another.
The scam of 'air coins' exploited information asymmetry and regulatory gaps, using high returns as bait to lure investors. These 'air coins' often had no real value, and their prices were entirely dictated by speculation and market sentiment.
Once the market fluctuates, investors will face enormous losses. The virtual currencies he promoted, such as Bitcoin, were inherently fraught with significant risks and bubbles.
The scam of the 'Ku Shen Wallet' was even more deceptive. Guo Hongcai leveraged his identity as a 'big shot' in the crypto space, along with the seemingly professional name 'Ku Shen', to endorse the project, leading many investors to believe it was genuine.
However, this so-called 'hardware wallet' was actually just an ordinary electronic device, which could not deliver the so-called 'tenfold returns'.
Guo Hongcai's methods of 'harvesting chives' were numerous. Using various means to create hype, he gradually lured investors into the abyss, making it difficult for them to extricate themselves.
His success was built on the hard-earned money of countless investors. Although he accumulated enormous wealth, he lost the support of the people and was ultimately abandoned by the times. Once known as 'Lord Bao', he became a pariah that everyone wanted to hit.
In this market filled with speculation and hype, the myth of getting rich overnight continued to play out, but it was also full of traps and risks. Many were deceived by false promises, ultimately losing their investments.
Investing requires caution; one must keep their eyes wide open and not blindly pursue quick riches. It's essential to rationally assess investment risks and not bet one's future on illusory 'wealth myths'.
