Why Didn't You Seize the Opportunity with Trump? Maybe Luck is a Skill

By: blockbeats|2025/02/02 06:00:05
0
Share
copy
Original Article Title: DeFAI: The Rise of Trading Agents
Original Article Author: Defi0xJeff, Founder of steak studio
Original Article Translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats

Editor's Note: Luck is not a coincidence but a skill acquired through preparation, persistence, and reflection. Jeff revisited his investment mistakes and growth process, highlighting how he learned from failures through continuous learning and strategy adjustments to eventually find his investment direction. The article reminds readers that the cryptocurrency market is full of volatility, and success relies on continuous effort, adaptation, and courage, rather than just luck.

The following is the original content (reorganized for better readability):

15 years ago, when I was playing Dota, there was a YouTube series called "Luck Is Not an Excuse." In the show, players defeated their opponents through precise positioning and actions to achieve victory.

I tried to replicate those moments but failed. Was it because I wasn't lucky enough or because I didn't put in enough effort? In other words, I needed to become stronger.

The same logic applies in the cryptocurrency field. When you see others earning life-changing wealth from cryptocurrency, you might think, "Why can't I do that?" This feeling drives you to act—you buy TRUMP, chase VINE, look for the next hot coin, and engage in the narrative.

Of course, if you understand how the market operates, you might indeed be lucky. But if you don't understand, you might end up worse off than when you started.

I entered the cryptocurrency world at the end of 2021—the peak of a bull market. My first investment was in CAKE, attracted by its 70-100% annual percentage yield (APY). Within a week, I lost 30% because CAKE plummeted. At that time, I didn't understand and thought it was a bad asset.

Then, I discovered TIME Wonderland with its 50,000% APY and the famous calculator that enticed me: "Invest 1,000, and after one year, through staking and compounding, it becomes 1M. If everyone stakes, we win together, (3,3) mechanism." The result is well known to everyone.

I suffered losses and learned the lesson of "rug pulls." Several months later, I learned about the importance of the team in Web3 projects through Solidly. Eventually, I found my direction in the presale project of Pinksale Finance and profited from it. I then invested funds in Bybit's Launchpad project, followed by earning 140% APY on Abracadabra. Three months later, I made a mistake.

I allocated most of my funds to the Terra ecosystem's Lockdrop and LBA projects, staking UST to maximize token rewards. Unfortunately, the UST depegging and Terra Luna's collapse resulted in me losing all my funds. In despair, I attempted to recoup my losses by shorting LUNA, only to be liquidated on a rebound. Ultimately, I went from nearly six figures in assets to $500.

However, this experience led me to a role at @TheSpartanGroup as a project advisor. Later, I started this account, writing about DeFi. In early 2023, I discovered @CamelotDEX and other Arbitrum DeFi projects, analyzing and sharing my insights with the community, which caused my Twitter account to explode.

From 2023 to 2024, I drifted in the market, sometimes lacking motivation. DeFi innovation slowed, and the landscape of L1/L2/L3 became fragmented, while life went through changes.

It wasn't until August 2024, a conversation with @vtes369 and the @ChasmNetwork team led me to delve into AI. With no formal AI background, I began studying retail-facing AI companions and agents, eventually discovering @virtuals_io. In a call with @everythingempt0, he elucidated Virtuals' vision of tokenizing AI agents, and it struck me, reminiscent of my 2023 discovery of @pendle_fi.

Just as Pendle tokenized yields, Virtuals aims to tokenize AI agents, potentially tapping into a multi-billion-dollar market. The team's creativity made me a firm believer in their vision. I invested in VIRTUAL at a $30M market cap. After the platform's launch, my investment thesis was validated. I deeply engaged, authored articles about AI agents, and built a supportive community.

This is not a brag; I still have a long way to go. The key is: in cryptocurrency, you must learn from mistakes, adapt, and continuously improve. Resilience is key. The market may rise, fall, or stagnate, interest may wane, but you must stay involved, keep learning, and support others. If you persist long enough, luck will be on your side.

Lessons Learned in Cryptocurrency:

1. Do your own research.

2. Form your own opinions and theories.

3. Reflect on Your Own Mistakes.

4. Engage with the Market Daily.

My Daily Routine:

1. Check @cookiedotfun, @Decentralisedco, and @GoatIndexAI for trends.

2. Follow a curated Twitter timeline in the AI space.

3. Write a piece of content daily to solidify my thoughts and share with others.

Those who have turned $500 into millions are not just lucky; they have spent countless hours in the cryptocurrency trenches, experiencing failures, perseverance, and resilience.

Many see this success and think it came easy, but the reality is far from it. The truth is: Luck is a skill. It is earned through preparation, consistency, and the courage to persist in adversity.

Cryptocurrency, much like life, is a marathon, not a sprint. You may stumble, you may hit rock bottom, but the only true failure is giving up.

The market is not finished. Alpha still exists, waiting to be discovered. The best investment opportunities come when everything is at its lowest, when the streets are filled with panic. That's when the opportunity lies right in front of you—waiting for those brave enough to seize it.

Success is built through years of hard work, reflection, and continuous growth. So, keep going, keep learning, keep believing. Your lucky break is not waiting; it is being paved by the effort you put in today.

Source: Original Article Link

You may also like

a16z Leads $18M Seed Round for Catena Labs, Crypto Industry Bets on Stablecoin AI Payment

Traditional finance is still stuck in a "human-to-human" model, while Catena aims to achieve "AI-to-AI" interaction.

Pharos, deeply integrated with AntChain, is about to launch. How can we get involved?

What is the relationship between the $8 million funded NewChain and Ant, and how will they interact?

The End and Rebirth of NFTs: How the Meme Coin Craze Ended the PFP Era?

There must be another Labubu hidden beneath the ruins.

Key Market Intelligence on May 14th, how much did you miss out on?

Featured News


1.Binance Alpha Launches HIPPO, BLUE, and Other Tokens

2.Believe Ecosystem Tokens See General Rise, LAUNCHCOIN Surges Over 250% in 24 Hours

3.Tiger Securities Introduces Cryptocurrency Deposit and Withdrawal Service, Supports Mainstream Cryptocurrencies such as BTC and ETH

4.Current Bitcoin Rally Possibly Driven by Institutions, Retail Traders Yet to Join

5.Binance Wallet's New TGE Privasea AI Participation Requires a 198 Point Threshold, with a Point Consumption of 15


Trending Topics


Source: Overheard on CT (tg: @overheardonct), Kaito


PUMP: Today's discussions about PUMP focus on its new creator revenue-sharing model: the platform will allocate 50% of PumpSwap revenue to token creators, sparking varied reactions from users. Some criticize the move as insufficient or even misleading, while others view it as a positive step the platform is taking to reward creators. Meanwhile, PUMP faces market pressure from emerging competitors like LetsBONKfun and Raydium, which are rapidly gaining market share. Users also express concerns about PUMP's sustainability and potential regulatory risks in the U.S., with discussions extending to the platform's impact on the entire memecoin ecosystem.


COINBASE: Today, Coinbase became the first crypto company to join the S&P 500 Index, replacing Discover Financial Services, sparking widespread industry attention. The entire crypto community views this milestone as a significant development, signaling that crypto assets are further integrating into the mainstream financial system. The news has sparked lively discussions on Twitter, with many users pointing out that this may attract more institutional investors to enter the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency markets.


XRP: XRP became the focal point of today's crypto discussion, with its significant market movements and strategic advances drawing attention. XRP has surpassed USDT to become the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, sparking market excitement and discussions about its future potential. The surge in market capitalization and price is believed to be related to increasing institutional interest, deepening strategic partnerships, and its role in the crypto ecosystem. Additionally, XRP's integration into multiple financial systems and its potential as a macro asset class are also seen as key factors driving the current market sentiment.


DYDX: Today's discussions about DYDX mainly focused on the dYdX Yapper Leaderboard launched by KaitoAI. The leaderboard aims to identify the most active community participants, with a total of $150,000 in rewards to be distributed over the first three seasons. This initiative has sparked broad community participation, with many users discussing the potential rewards and the incentive effect on the DYDX ecosystem. Meanwhile, progress on the ethDYDX to dYdX native chain migration and historical airdrop events have also been topics of discussion.


Featured Articles


1. "What Is 'ICM'? Holding Up the $4 Billion Market Cap Solana's New Narrative"

Overnight, the hottest narrative in the crypto space has become "Internet Capital Markets," with a host of crypto projects and founders, led by the Solana ecosystem's new Launchpad platform Believe, releasing this phrase. Together with "Believe in something," it has become the new slogan heralding the onset of a bull market. What exactly is the so-called "Internet Capital Market," will it become a short-lived hype phrase like the Base ecosystem's previous Content Coin, and what related targets are available for selection?


2.《LaunchCoin Surges 20x in One Day, How Did Believe Create a $200M Market Cap Shiba Inu After Going to Zero?|100x Retrospective》

LAUNCHCOIN broke through a $200 million market cap today, with the long-lost liquidity and such a high market cap "Memecoin" almost bringing half of the on-chain crypto community CT into the fray. The community is crazily discussing this token, with half of it being FOMO and the other half being FUD. This token, originally issued by Believe founder Ben Pasternak under his personal identity, transformed into a new platform token after a renaming. From once going to zero to a $200 million market cap, what happened in between?


On-chain Data


May 14 On-chain Fund Flow


Within 24 hours, GOONC's market cap soared to 70 million, could GOONC be the next billion-dollar dog on the Believe platform?

Bitcoin has broken $100,000, Ethereum has surpassed 2500, and is Solana's hot streak about to make a comeback?


The current market is in a state of macro euphoria, with GOONC riding the wave today, skyrocketing 10x in just a few hours, reaching a market cap of tens of millions of dollars, trading volume soaring past 50 million, and rumors swirling that the developer may be from OpenAI (unconfirmed but intriguing enough).


The "gooning" Culture in Forums


A ludicrous and absurd Solana meme that some actually buy into.


GOONC is a meme coin that has sprouted from the "gooning" subculture, offering no technological innovation or practical use, its sole function being speculation.


It takes inspiration from an NSFW term "gooning," which refers to a person being deeply immersed in certain content (you know what), eventually entering a nearly religious-like trance.


In Reddit (such as r/GOONED, r/GoonCaves) and some counterculture media outlets (such as MEL Magazine in 2020), "gooning" has gradually transitioned from an adult label to a meme-addicted, digital content and virtual self-indulgence synonym, arguably the epitome of Degen spirit.


GOONC is playing around with this concept, packaging the addictive nature, uselessness, and irony of gooning into a tradable financial product. The project team has made it clear: "We do not solve blockchain problems, we only trade absurdity." Blunt but oddly genuine.


GOONC launched on May 13, 2025, using the meme coin launch platform Believe App's LaunchCoin module on Solana. This tool is highly Degen: zero technical barriers, a few clicks to create a coin, perfect for projects like GOONC that can come up with ideas out of the blue.



The mastermind behind GOONC is also quite something and is the most talked-about, with KOL @basedalexandoor on X platform (alias "Pata van Goon") personally involved. His profile even caught the attention of Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z, making onlookers unable to resist speculating if GOONC has a hint of OpenAI lineage.



While this 'OpenAI Endorsement' is currently just community speculation, it is definitely a good card to play to fuel hype. Saying "we are pure speculation" on one hand, while tagging a few "AI + a16z" on the other.


From Wasteland to Moon in One Night


GOONC took off as soon as it launched. After its launch on May 13, 2025, its market capitalization skyrocketed to $22 million within 4 hours, with a trading volume exceeding $25.6 million in 24 hours. According to platform data, the first day of trading saw an astonishing +41,100% surge, soaring from $0.0000001 to $0.02, becoming a "missed-the-boat" situation.


GOONC quickly formed an active trading community post-launch, with a lot of discussion and trading signals appearing on X platform (such as the 292x return signal provided by DeBot). Liquidity pools on exchanges like Raydium and Meteora grew rapidly, supporting high trading volumes and price increases.


The real climax occurred between May 13 and May 14, with the market cap rising to $5.5 million in the morning and directly surpassing $55 million in the afternoon. By the 14th, it briefly approached a $70 million market cap, with the trading volume soaring to $59 million. Some community members even posted screenshots claiming an increase of +85,000%, creating a new myth out of the ruins.


As of 1:30 pm on May 14, the price stabilized around $0.039, with a total market cap and FDV both around $39.6 million, and a 24-hour trading volume of $5.43 million. Active platforms include XT.COM, LBank, Meteora, and others.


Although there was a slight pullback from the peak ($0.07), the coin's popularity remains strong. For a coin that relies purely on "irony + community + X post" to thrive, this performance is already at a stellar level.



Currently, the background of the token's development team is not transparent, increasing the potential risk of a rug pull. Rugcheck.xyz warns that the creator of the GOONC contract may have permission to modify the contract (e.g., change fees or mint additional tokens), posing certain security risks.


Community members speculate that the meteoric rise of GOONC may be the "last hurrah".


How to Get Rich in Crypto Without Relying on Luck? Financial Veteran Raoul Pal's Macro Insights and Investment Path

2008 Financial Crisis "Oracle" Raoul Pal on Cryptocurrency, Resilient Wealth, and Macro Insights.

Popular coins

Latest Crypto News

Read more