Defining Success in Crypto
Hey, friends!
Today we have a guest post from Shui Tangs.
I discovered this Twitter account some weeks ago by a coincidence, and what striked me was a very unique writing style where he combines long sentences, with short sentences and simple words only with punctation after. Just read it for yourself, and you quickly understand what I mean. The post is unfiltered and is in Shui Tangs own words and is about what success in crypto means.
Recommend you to follow him.
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Before we start I want to express my deep gratitude to Route. Not just for allowing me to be featured on here and get my thoughts in front of you guys but also for his continued effort to bring easy-to-digest knowledge to everyone. Educating the space.
Let’s start with a quick introduction. My origin story.
I learnt about crypto in 2017. Through a friend in the CS:GO skin trading community.
So I created a wallet and began accepting USDT as a payment option. Fast forward a couple of weeks. I was hooked. Fascinated by the idea of an open "gamified" financial system. Sitting at the forefront of its ever-expanding boundaries.
Money interests me. For as long as I can remember. Freedom. Compounding. Leverage. It’s only logical I chose Banking as my degree. In university, I learnt about macro, introductory banking, contracts, financial history, laws. Theory. Often outdated. Obsolete. Needed a practical approach. Something fungible. Learn. Adapt. Execute.
So in my free time, I roamed this sector. Discord. Twitter. Absorbing any information I could get my hands on. A few names come to mind. Mocho. Godfather. Loop. Donalt.
Those insights shaped my economic understanding much more than any degree ever could have. Allowing me to speedrun much of the "Amateur phase". You know the saying. New market participants have to pay a tuition fee. Trial by fire. Sooner or later.
So did I. Ran up the humble portfolio I had built by working in the space. Became overconfident. Then lost it all.
Doubt. First Success. Venturing out the Risk Curve. More Success. Leverage. Dead.
But… I stayed. Persevered. Taking some odd jobs. Working. Waging away. Turning my back on speculation.
Until 2021. DeFi. NFTs. I was hooked again.
The skills I had gathered through my CS skin trading "career" (if you can even call it that) started to pay off huge. A couple of analysis tools. Some bright-minded degens I now call friends. My first real success. By trading colourful pngs. Ironic.
Nowadays I sit comfy in spot. Have gotten more rational. Less of a degen. Some yield positions here and there. A little leverage on the side. Maybe some airdrop hunting for dessert. I have honed my edge. Waiting to deploy it again.
This is my story.
Have I made it? Something I contemplate daily.
Wanted to put my thoughts into words. A framework.
Here it is.
Defining Success in Crypto
This is not a new subject. Rather the question at the core of the life of every human that ever lived. Will ever live.
It's answer. Simple. Yet varied. Constant through time. Humans don't change at their core.
You could follow the teachings of the ancient Greeks. Defining success as seeking wisdom. Striving for ethical excellence. Cultivating inner virtues.
Take the route of the modern Emerson. "Laugh often and much; Win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; Appreciate beauty; Find and support the best in others." But most importantly.
Leave the world a better place.
Or simply listen to Wooden and find success not in external achievements but in knowing that you made an effort. Did your best. Achieved what you were capable of.
The answer is always subject to your ideals. Your values. Social. Economic. Religious. Ideology.
Let's bring this back to crypto.
You're either here for the money or the tech.
Right? A foolish statement. Misguided.
I rather think of two camps living in this sector. Tourists and Residents.
Tourists. Wanting to experience. Feel the thrill. Make money. Extract value.
Residents. Wanting to build. Help move the space forward. Make money. Generate value.
Most residents start out as tourists. Most sectors thrive because of tourists. There is a symbiosis, much like in travel. Some might find it problematic. I see it as essential.
Where you fall on this binary spectrum dictates how you define personal success in crypto.
Tourists - the ones that consume
You're only here to get rich quick. You log on. Check prices. But only of the assets you hold. You jump between narratives. Follow whatever clickbait thread hits your TL. Countless Telegram and Discord groups. Read like a maniac. Not to learn. Solely to profit. No depth.
I don't shame you. Money is an easy goal. Freedom. Opportunities. Bottled energy and time of humans.
"Once I have enough I can finally follow my true purpose."
That purpose lies elsewhere. Beyond the horizon of our subculture. Just a stepping stone to something else.
So you grind away. Always in pursuit of some magical number. A million. 10. Nowadays that might not even be enough to retire right? Delusional. CT is an endless timeline of success. Larps. Retarded takes. Scrolling through you feel insignificant. Unsuccessful. Zoom out.
Money is not everything. A means to an end. Sure. A tool. Propellent to accelerate you on the road to your final destination. So what happens once you hit this number? What will you do then? Disappear? Turn your back on this space? You will get sucked in again. I talk from experience.
Why leave the casino on a winning streak right? The only way to leave this place is to find purpose and fulfilment elsewhere. Or get burned. Hard.
So how do you define success? As a Tourist. Three ways.
First. Monetary.
You hunt a number. One you think will allow you to retire. Live off of it for the rest of your life. Or at least until you have found your true calling.
Maybe add some yield positions in there. I remember the "Curve Wars". Lock 30'000 CRV and retire. Infinite Cashflow. Passive Income.
Second. Coping.
Not everyone in crypto can make money. This is a market. Predatory. Will those less fortunate participants consider themselves unsuccessful?
The knowledge they leave this space with might pay off a hundredfold in the future. Financial literacy. An understanding of elementary DeFi infrastructure.
Communal feelings. Endurance. Contacts. Jobs. Even a good story.
Some outcomes can lead to success that do not require a positive PnL.
Third. Leaving.
Harsh but true. For those treating the market as a casino. Gambling. Shitcoins. Without a strategy. Leave.
A smoker would count quitting as a success.
But the sector is broad. Seemingly infinite vectors to work on. A never-ending demand for true competence. Chances are that if you spend enough time here, you find something that truly excites you. Your magnum opus. Purpose.
(Forth. Becoming a Resident).
At what point does a Tourist become a Resident? Not a set amount of time. Not even a job. It takes a cognitive shift. In approach. Motivation. Motive.
Forget what I said before. This was my first success.
Residents - the ones that stay
It's hard to define a Resident. From the outside. You will know.
But defining success here is easy. Oh, so easy.
You'll never reach it. But you'll be successful.
Not what you expected right? Not what I expected either when I started writing. Hear me out.
What is success? An end. A finish line. Once passed, you have everything you've ever wanted—the end of a chapter of your life.
Then, on to a new one. Turn the page.
As a Resident, you live here. You enjoy working in the space. Pushing it forward. In whatever way.
You don't care about the prices. Sure. It stings to see BTC tumble below $20'000. It stings to see new degens outperform you. It stings to miss out on entire sectors because you have some sort of risk framework.
But as a Resident you don't envy Tourists. In the same way, a turtle doesn't envy a bird. The same way a tour guide in Spain doesn't envy the seniors he's showing around. The same way a cook doesn't envy his guests.
They might be better off in the moment. Making money. Flying. Enjoying themselves. Consuming.
But you have found something true.
Purpose.
- ShuiTangs
…
That’s it for today, anon!
Hope you enjoyed this piece.
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Enjoyed this take on success, purpose & life, thanks for recommending Route.