Hey buddy, do you ever feel that way? Looking back at the crypto these past few years, it feels like the era of "getting a good degree and climbing the social ladder" is completely over.
Ten years ago, when Bitcoin was just emerging, many people thought it was a "worthless coin" or a "scam," and didn't even know how to set up a wallet.
Eight years ago, during the ICO craze, project teams raised hundreds of millions of dollars overnight. Ordinary people who dared to invest some ETH could easily have their investments multiplied tenfold within six months.
Five years ago, during the super bull market of 2017-2018, Bitcoin surged to $20,000, Ethereum rose from tens of dollars to $1,400, mining machines sold out, and many people went from being ordinary workers to becoming "crypto millionaires".
Four years ago, the DeFi summer arrived. Liquidity mining and yield farming allowed people to earn hundreds of points annually simply by depositing USDT. Protocols like Uni, Aave, and Compound gave countless people their first taste of the thrill of "making money from money."
Three years ago, the NFT+ metaverse exploded. OpenSea generated hundreds of millions of dollars in daily revenue, and the price of BAYC skyrocketed from a few hundred ETH to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Countless programmers, designers, and even complete novices achieved financial freedom by simply drawing a monkey head.
Two years ago, Memecoin and the Solana ecosystem took off. Dogecoin, SHIB, PEPE and any of these "shitty coins" could make you rich overnight. Any new project on Solana could increase your investment by 100 times on the first day.
A year ago, Bitcoin ETFs were approved, and spot ETH ETFs also came along. Institutional funds entered the market in large numbers, and new narratives such as Layer 2, RWA, and AI+Crypto began to take turns... In between, there were Ethereum 2.0 upgrades, the end of the mining era, stablecoin hegemony, GameFi, SocialFi, Restaking... Each stage saw a batch of stories of "other people's children" getting rich.
But what about most ordinary people? They might not even have a Binance account, only seeing news on social media like "So-and-so made hundreds of millions again" or "Another Gen Z bought a luxury house with Meme coin." Envy? Regret? Anxiety? All of those. But more than anything, there's that empty feeling of "I missed out on another wave." Actually, the times never stop moving, and opportunities never cease. The problem isn't "whether there's a trend," but whether you're ready to get on board when it arrives.
I know several friends whose lives were truly transformed by the crypto, and none of them had a sudden epiphany. They all: 1. Picked a specific sector and dedicated themselves to in-depth research. For example, some people spent every day in DeFi forums in 2020, thoroughly studying all the white papers, TVLs, and audit reports of all protocols; 2. Combined their own abilities to specialize in one thing. Programmers wrote contracts, designers created NFTs, and traders practiced candlestick charts and fund flows; 3. Maintained a certain sensitivity to macroeconomic trends. Fed rate hikes? Chinese regulations? Bitcoin halvings? They knew what to do six months in advance.
A degree is certainly useful; top universities like 985 and 211 can give you a better starting point, better logical thinking, and better English reading skills, but it's definitely not the ceiling. Many of the most successful people in the crypto didn't even finish their undergraduate degrees—Vitalik was a Russian teenager, and CZ was a programmer dropout. They relied not on diplomas, but on their keen sense of trends and their execution ability.
Instead of struggling to survive in traditional sectors, it's better to ask yourself: In which niche of the crypto can my abilities be amplified 10 or 100 times? Looking back a decade or so, it's quite interesting. Back then, everyone was scrambling to become civil servants, work in banks, or join foreign companies. Many computer science majors were assigned to these fields, and the term "blockchain" was unheard of. And what happened? Now Huawei and Xiaomi are giants. Those who looked down on the internet back then are now kicking themselves; those who thought "crypto trading is gambling" can only look on with envy at others' financial freedom and say, "They were just lucky."
So, brother, I suggest you ask yourself a few practical questions right now: 1. Have you seen any sectors that are still in their early stages or growth phase? (For example, AI Agents, RWA, DePIN, the Bitcoin ecosystem, etc.) 2. Do you truly believe they can change the world in the next 5-10 years? Not just listening to others hype, but believing after your own research. 3. Are you willing to dedicate yourself to a field long-term? Not chasing trends for three days and then leaving, but investing real money, time, and energy. 4. Are your own abilities (technology, traffic, capital, execution) enough to be "chosen" by this opportunity? 5. If the opportunity truly arrives, can you reach a more core position? (For example, transforming from a retail investor into a KOL, from a user into a project team, from an investor into an ecosystem builder) There are no standard answers to these questions. Some people identify the right direction but give up halfway, while others stumble upon it by chance but persevere and ultimately become big winners.
Luck certainly plays a large role, but the more prepared you are, the more likely luck will favor you. Instead of constantly scrolling through social media anxiously about "missing out on another 100x coin," it's better to do something more practical: what skills will still be valuable in the crypto ten years from now? For example:
- Expertise in smart contract auditing (always in demand)
- Skilled at on-chain data analysis (proficient in tools like Nansen and Dune)
- Having community management and KOL capabilities (most sought-after during the Meme coin era)
- Understanding macroeconomics and on-chain cash flow (essential for the institutional era)
- They might even write AI+blockchain code (next narrative).
These aren't trends, but fundamental capabilities. Trends may change, but these capabilities, like Bitcoin, become more valuable with age.
Truly successful people don't chase every trend; they're already in a higher position before each trend arrives. Maintain your curiosity, read white papers, use Discord, take notes, and try small investments.
Accumulate slowly, and one day you'll find yourself thinking: "Hey? How did I suddenly get on board?" Don't live too stressfully. The crypto is a deep and murky place, and emotions can easily get you burned. Don't get carried away when you make money, and don't despair when you lose. Do some research, see the world, and maintain a relaxed attitude—it's actually quite good. Who knows, one day you might be the next person posting on social media, "I finally turned my life around!"
Times have changed. A degree is still a stepping stone, but what truly determines how far you can go is whether you dare to prepare yourself in advance to be the kind of person who can "take off as soon as you get on board" when opportunity knocks. Brother, are you ready? Don't wait until the next decade to regretfully say, "If only I had known back then..."
Market conditions change rapidly; entry and exit points should be determined based on real-time market conditions. Follow the trend after a breakout! Regardless of your confidence level, strictly adhere to stop-loss and take-profit strategies! That's all for today! Follow me to stay on track! If you're unsure about future market strategies, follow my WeChat Official Account: Liangmu Talks Blockchain
