A 32-year-old veteran, after 200 days and five attempts at the D Group challenge, finally completed the goal in this 7th challenge, turning 2k into 100k. This also settles a personal obsession; as a Scorpio, I care too much about obsessions. My address: 0xb57cfb60756287d18baa3881e6cc95b6cb2fb08c
Looking back on this journey, it started with an NFT recommended in the D Group. Along the way, I went bankrupt and sold the NFT, never returning until now. The ups and downs and the bitterness along the way are hard to describe.
Experiences
- I am not a very talented person. Whether in school or playing games, I could never be the best. However, I am good at copying others' methods. Since I lack the ability, I find capable people and see what they do. Since entering the circle in 2021 because of DOGE, I've hung around various groups. At first, everyone was playing contracts on exchanges. There were wins and losses, just like gambling. I wasn't good at trading and mostly followed others' signals. Until one day, every group was talking about a coin called HTMOON. I operated in a wallet for the first time, buying 1000u which quickly became 5000u. Back then, everyone was shilling HTMOON; WeChat was full of groups, and the excitement was on a different level compared to now.
But because I entered late, the hype ended quickly after a certain influencer's shout-out. My 1000u ended up as a few thousand profit. But it helped me touch a new field—on-chain "shitcoins."
At that time, I had ways to make money in real life and wasn't fully committed to Web3. In my 20s, whenever I made money, I thought about going out. I hung out in KTVs, nightclubs, and bars three or four times a week, playing until morning, not realizing I was missing the era I should have worked hardest in. Even so, by following some early shitcoin groups, I caught some good targets. But each time, for various reasons, I only made tens of thousands of dollars, then spent or gambled it away.
I remember SQUID and DOGEKING were both caught at the bottom; they were 10,000x coins. Especially DOGEKING—10u eventually rose to 150k USD. But because I only made 15k USD, and due to my narrow vision and the fact that I was trading on debt (countless online loans, ruined credit), every time I made money, I just paid off loans and spent recklessly. I repeated this cycle of going from millions in debt to paying it off, having hundreds of thousands in capital, wasting it, and then going back into debt. I went through this five times, once a year, wasting my best five years.
- From cashing out 1500 RMB on Huabei to millions in Inscriptions, then back to debt, and starting on the SOL chain.
Muddling through until 2023, I was responsible for setting up a provincial trading platform, but it failed to open after three years. Combined with trading losses and debt, my mental state was terrible. After an argument with my boss, I quit and moved to a brokerage headquarters in Ningbo. But leaving one's comfort zone isn't for everyone. I struggled with the new environment and business, leading to lower income. Reality forced me to find a new way. I went to bed at 2 AM and woke up at 6 AM to drive for my boss. After dropping him off, I'd hide in the car, frantically scrolling Twitter for news and methods. Twitter back then was pure, without AI; many shared info freely. My strategy was to go all-in, rolling positions until a new target appeared. One day, I bought the bottom of MONKEYS at a 60k market cap. But due to the Crash split and moving to the V2 pool, I couldn't stand the test. It later rose to 80M, and he made his first pot of gold from it. I left with a regretful 20k profit. In May 2023, two huge opportunities appeared: PEPE and ORDI. At 6 AM, PEPE had just launched at 5 AM. I saw everyone shilling XAI (posted by Musk). My attention was stolen by XAI, and I ignored PEPE. Path dependency made me think Musk's shout-outs were always stronger. Both were at 10M market cap, competing. XAI eventually went to zero, and my position went to zero, while PEPE went to tens of billions. That battle broke my spirit and emptied my wallet. I missed many things despite waking up at 5 AM every day. I was lost until I saw someone shilling ORDI. I felt it was an opportunity, but I had no money. It was dozens of dollars per piece. Being poor and lazy, I didn't buy. Then, an alpha player shared the ETHS mint link. It only cost 1u in gas. I happened to be skipping work at my computer and felt it was a lifeline. I minted frantically but only got a dozen due to the numbering system. After 30 minutes of thinking, I used my credit line for 300u to buy 20 more. I held those 40 ETHS until they hit 4k USD each. I swapped half for ATOM (ARC-20). When they hit 4k, I sold 20 to pay off all loans and 500k RMB I owed a friend. I held the remaining 40 ATOM, dreaming of wealth. Even when it hit 15k USD (500k USD floating profit), I didn't sell. I got arrogant, spent money on female streamers, and met a woman. Later, ATOM fell to 3k, and I sold. The hundreds of thousands I had left were lost through bad trades and betting on the European Cup. I never cherished the money I had, so it slipped away.
- Millions in debt, seeking a way out on the SOL chain after quitting gambling.
Because of my arrogance with Inscriptions, I missed the early SOL boom. When NEIRO appeared, I saw another chance. I just had a loan approved and bet 2 ETH on the small NEIRO on ETH. An hour later, Vitalik tweeted, and it jumped from 3M to 60M. But the competition was fierce, and the big NEIRO caused a two-month shakeout. Because of my failure with Inscriptions, I didn't have "diamond hands." I sold everything at the bottom (20M). On October 1st, it reversed, Binance listed it, and I missed success again. But it made me realize that only on-chain could I flip my life. I decided to scan the SOL chain and coincidentally joined D-Bro's group. There was no NFT group then, but after I shared a CA that went up dozens of times, the admin rewarded me with an NFT. Although I rarely spoke, the atmosphere was harmonious. D-Bro often supported me when I shared CAs. I'm very grateful to him.
- Participating in the D Group challenge multiple times, always falling short.
Starting from the 3rd challenge, I'd quickly reach the top rankings. But after hitting 200 SOL, I'd lose my way. Everyone else was going big, but I only had those few SOL left. The D Group challenge felt like my own personal challenge—extreme survival. But things often went against my wishes. I was afraid to lose my rank, and it became a mental block. Finishing this challenge settles that. I hope the road ahead is easier and I can make more money on-chain.
- Summary of experience from this challenge
I don't really know how to summarize. After every bankruptcy, I just sit at the computer. I scan the chain when I wake up and sleep when I'm tired. Maybe because I'm older, I can't focus well, but I keep watching. I might only have 2 hours of focused time a day, scattered. But because I have no money and no friends outside, I get anxious away from the computer, fearing I'll miss something. I can't pump the internal market like a genius; I rely on luck. I have to play new launches when I'm focused, and when I'm tired, I look at old coins to see if they can be revived or anticipate what might be mentioned. BSC is the easiest; SOL requires team coordination, but you can do BSC alone. Sometimes you know the narrative just by the name. Thanks to BSC and the Chinese community for changing many lives. I never bash Yi He or CZ. If I summarize: understand the narrative, find the best traders among the winners, and understand their style—who catches the bottom, who finds the right one among splits, who is good at lurking, and who is good at chasing highs for big results. Understand your address library, and you can make money.
My address: 0xb57cfb60756287d18baa3881e6cc95b6cb2fb08c
Sorry for the rambling. There are many more stories from the past five years, but I don't know how to bring them up. I hope everyone makes money in Web3. 0xb57cfb60756287d18baa3881e6cc95b6cb2fb08c
