Summarizing my first 6 months in Crypto

March 31st, 2022

Lessons learned from diving into the rabbit hole of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and Web3

Intro

Riding the rollercoaster called crypto was hella fun until now and I’ve decided to share the lessons I’ve taken away from diving deep into the rabbit hole we call crypto.

It all started out for me when I heard about Bitcoin touching new heights end of August 2021. On the lookout for a profitable side-hustle and big dreams, I’ve jumped in head over heels and got myself some sweet magic internet money.

It didn’t take me long to realize that crypto is way more than just HODLing Bitcoin. Numerous Altcoins are deployed by the day and almost all of them are deemed to be the next Bitcoin killer.

My plan was set. I was ready to learn the game and start making money on something that I barely understood at the time. Trading cryptocurrencies was only natural to me because I had some experience in the stock market, so I went out and signed up for an exchange to start working.

Trading cryptocurrencies

Trading crypto is like trading stocks, on speed. I have never experienced so many ups and downs in a matter of days and I was hooked quicker than Elaine Thompson-Hera can sprint.

After I got my first sats and started researching for other cryptocurrencies, I found out that there are a lot of projects out there trying to revolutionize different parts of the internet.

Many projects set out to be the next Ethereum or Bitcoin, but almost just as many are nothing but mere hype when you look behind the website and try to figure out who they would benefit from the most.

Nevertheless, my greedy ass started learning about different altcoins and their following. Transparency is key in crypto, but even though it might be easily accessible to look up blockchain data for whale movements, the noise of influencers and hype is so loud, that it becomes a game of discipline to stay focused and not to get hyped for some meme-coin (sorry Shiba-Inu fanbase, I just don’t get it).

Using the hype to trade profitably is also possible, but checking discord, Twitter, and YouTube hourly is a chore that can be tiring if profits are not high enough to make up for it, so I decided to just invest in long-term holdings and stopped chasing the green dragon.

Flipping NFTs

NFTs is a whole different game when compared to “classic” crypto trading. The sheer endless projects that are released and articles that are written about legendary sales like Beeple’s Everydays were enough to keep me going deeper into the world of crypto.

In my opinion, trading or flipping NFTs is way more emotional than just trading coins. That is because there’s a relatively small team that releases their project with an idea behind it most of the time. Of course, there are a lot of collections out there that are derivatives trying to make a quick buck off of the success of the so-called blue-chip NFT projects like crypto punks.

NFTs are way more than fancy status symbols though. There is a lot of utility behind smart contracts and NFTs can be used for numerous use-cases. They can be linked to luxury goods as a certificate of authenticity or even as a token to buy real estate nowadays.

I’m excited to see where NFTs will evolve in the years to come. One thing is certain, they are not going away anymore and people will find more and more use-cases for them as our cultural paradigm shifts from being organized by a central authority to a decentralized organization of linked minds.

Diving Deep: DAOs

Speaking of decentralized organizations, DAOs are exactly that. DAOs are basically communities with a shared bank account and people come together in these groups to achieve a common goal.

Whether it is to go ahead and do something crazy like buying a page of the American constitution or creating a shared space for creatives to come together in real-life to collaborate: DAOs are changing the way people organize themselves in communities.

There’s been a long time where dreams were given by the elite thinkers of societies, but with DAOs, even small groups can collaborate to achieve greater goals that are only limited by laws and nature.

The first time I read about the concept of decentralized organizations I was blown away by the idea of sharing equity with total strangers. But the more I get involved in this space, I realize the advantages of a transparent and trustless system.

Of course, scammers and malicious minds still exist and do their best to harm others for their own good. But in a community where everyone is transparent, everyone can check on their fellow members to see who they’re working with. This creates an environment of free-minded collaboration and self-reliance at the same time because it is highly incentivized to look after oneself and after each other simultaneously.

Learning about Web3

All the things I’ve learned in the last months are entities of a greater evolution. The internet as we know it will change drastically over the next years and the more I learn about Web3, the more I think it will be for the greater good in the end.

Nowadays, data is used by big tech companies to create value out of information. Users give up their data and get “experiences” in exchange for that. Social media is a great example for big-data businesses. Algorithms control what you see and you merely control what you are shown if you’re not into tech or know how to secure your user data when surfing the internet.

Businesses pay social media companies to be shown in your feed and all you get from that are incentives to buy useless stuff you don’t need.

Web3 on the other hand makes it possible for users to not only choose where they give up their data but also make the usage of that data traceable. In the future, you can choose to opt out of giving away your data or even get paid for giving it away. Take Brave, is an internet browser that pays users in their native token to show ads that are just as discrete as google ads.

Summary

It’s been a wild six months for the world of crypto and for me. I’ve never learned so much in such a small timeframe and I love the pace of this space. I’m excited to see what this year will bring us and can’t wait to share more stories about my Web3 endeavors.