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From a monthly salary of 5,000 to financial freedom: My friend's crypto comeback story

In the winter of 2022, my friend was still doing repetitive operational work in an office building in Hangzhou, earning a monthly salary of 5,000. After deducting rent and living expenses, the amount he could save each month was minimal. Seeing friends post travel photos and new car keys on Moments, he felt full of dissatisfaction—could it be that he was destined to be stuck in the 9-to-5 cycle for life?

By chance, he came across discussions about cryptocurrencies on an industry forum. At that time, the market was in a winter slump, with Bitcoin dropping from over $60,000 to $15,000. Many people complained about "losing everything and leaving," but some veteran traders said, "Bear markets are the best entry points for retail investors." With a try-and-see attitude, my friend spent half a month's salary to buy his first small amount of cryptocurrency on an exchange. He also followed community sharing of valuable insights, gradually learning about candlestick analysis and project whitepapers, dedicating his after-work hours to research.

In spring 2023, he noticed a new project focused on decentralized storage. After repeatedly studying the whitepaper, he found that the project's technical team had backgrounds from Google and Ethereum, and had received seed funding from well-known VCs. At that time, it hadn't yet attracted mainstream attention, and the token price was only $0.3. My friend gritted his teeth and invested all his savings of 15,000 yuan (about 1.5万元), which he had saved over half a year. He then patiently waited—during this period, the token also fell to $0.15. Friends around him advised him to cut his losses, but he firmly believed in his judgment and didn't waver.

The turning point came in the second half of 2023. As blockchain applications accelerated their implementation, the decentralized storage sector suddenly exploded, with giants entering the market. This underestimated project also underwent a revaluation. The token price soared from $0.15 to over $5 in three months, reaching a high of $12 six months later. When my friend saw his account balance on the trading app, he was stunned—his initial 15,000 yuan investment had grown to 600,000.

He didn't sell greedily; he sold most of his holdings in batches around $10, leaving only a small portion for long-term holding. With this money, he paid off his parents' mortgage, quit his job, and started his own small studio. He continued creating content he loved while deepening his involvement in crypto trading. Surprisingly, when he shared his investment logic in the community, he met a group of like-minded friends. They exchanged information and experiences, and later caught two opportunities to double small altcoins, taking his assets to a new level.

Now, my friend no longer worries about making a living. He has more time to spend with family and travel the world. He often says, "Cryptocurrency is not a game for gamblers, but a comeback channel for ordinary people. The market never lacks opportunities; what’s missing is the patience to learn and settle during bear markets, and the courage to act decisively when opportunities arise."