Introduction

Every crypto trader goes through a remarkably similar timeline. While you may oscillate back and forth between a few phases, mainly Luck and Rinsed, almost everyone ends up at the same conclusion.

1. Luck

You heard about crypto online and finally decided to try it. After countless YouTube videos and a strenuous KYC process, you finally have a Phantom wallet with some Solana in it.

You've heard about people making generational wealth in memecoins and now it's your turn.

You go on the Phantom trending page and buy $100 of Rocket Shiba Lambo.

The chart swings 40% in both directions within a minute. This is nothing like buying stocks. When it goes down, you think you've made a grave mistake. When it goes up, you think you're the smartest guy in the world.

You're up 80% in an hour and consider selling. Then you remember the idea of HODLing and tell yourself, "No risk, no rari."

You decide to go to bed.

The next morning your $100 has turned into $3,000.

You sell instantly.

You've done it. You've found the infinite money glitch.

Time to find the next gem.

2. Rinsed

You're more confident now. You've won some and lost some, but you've seen the life changing potential of this industry. If you just go in with size on one play, you could make it for life.

You also convince yourself that if you buy a new launch and sell two seconds later, you can make an easy 20%.

You buy a fresh pair.

Rugged.

One moment you have $250. The next moment you have nothing.

Just bad luck.

You buy another launch.

The chart shoots up 144% in a minute.

Here we go.

If it can do this in a minute, imagine where it'll be in an hour.

Right as you finish that thought...

Rugged.

You tell yourself you just need to be more disciplined. Next time you'll take profits immediately.

You buy an Elon to Mars coin.

It only goes up.

You're up 200% in a minute. You try to sell.

Phantom glitches.

No worries. Now you're up 350%.

You try again.

Nothing.

Now you're up 800% and sprinting around the room trying to figure out how to sell. You restart your phone.

When you're finally back, you're up 3,000%.

You have tears in your eyes as you try to lock in the easiest money of your life.

Then...

One candle.

Straight to zero.

Congratulations. You just experienced your first honeypot.

3. Group Chats

You realize trenching alone is hard.

You keep seeing screenshots from private groups calling coins before they go 100x.

That's the missing piece.

You join a giant Telegram group with 15,000 members. Every few hours the leader posts a coin.

The first one does a 3x.

Finally.

You figure if you just buy faster than everyone else, you can dump on the slower members.

Foolproof.

The next call pumps 60%, then dumps below your entry ten seconds later.

You try again.

Quick 20%.

Then you lose on the next five calls.

Each one hurts more than the last.

Eventually the KOL announces an "exclusive" launch in twenty minutes.

Everyone gets ready.

The coin launches.

He tells everyone to hold while the whales arrive.

The chart slowly climbs.

Then...

The most violent rug you've ever seen.

You ask what happened.

Blocked.

You check Telegram.

Every message about the launch has been deleted.

A perfect crime.

You leave the group and swear you'll only trade with friends.

Eventually you get invited to a private trench group with forty members. Everyone has a pizza emoji in their username.

The calls are incredible.

Between trades everyone talks about sports, girls and gambling.

You become friends.

You all catch a new narrative early and each make $15,000.

You eventually give most of it back during a cold streak.

You don't even care.

Trenching with friends is the best.

4. Perps

The trenches are dead.

The group chat is quiet.

People are playing virtual darts instead of posting contract addresses.

There's no new narrative.

Then someone posts a screenshot showing they made 90% in one day trading Bitcoin.

How?

Bitcoin only moved 5%.

Your friend explains perpetual futures.

"You can leverage safer assets and make huge returns."

Genius.

Why hunt for the next SOL 10k topper when you can just long SOL itself?

Everyone in the group starts trading perps.

Everyone except Pizza Bob.

Pizza Bob hasn't touched a memecoin in months. He quietly buys Bitcoin every Friday and keeps telling everyone they're idiots.

Nobody listens.

At first it's incredible.

You're making 40% a day trading megacaps.

Every time you get close to liquidation, you close the position, dust yourself off and load another trade.

Then the liquidations begin.

One friend blows up a $60,000 portfolio on an ETH long.

Another gets liquidated on a 20x short despite being directionally correct.

You lose $10,000.

You immediately double down.

Gone.

Slowly the entire group chat gets liquidated.

People disappear.

Someone quit their job to trade.

Someone else spent three years building that portfolio.

It's all gone.

You all should've listened to Pizza Bob.

5. Bitcoin Maxi

You consolidate what's left.

Five SOL.

You wonder if you should try one last run in the trenches.

The thought makes you sick.

You know there's still generational wealth to be made.

All you feel is pain.

Pain from rugs.

Pain from honeypots.

Pain from liquidations.

Pain from staring at charts twelve hours a day.

Meanwhile your friend who never trenched tells you he's having a great time in crypto.

He buys a little Bitcoin every month.

That's it.

He's up huge.

You reluctantly realize he's right.

You swap your last five SOL for Bitcoin.

You finally understand why Bitcoin maxis sound the way they do.

They aren't born.

They're created.

Conclusion

Have you experienced all five phases?

Which one are you in right now?

Will you learn from other people's mistakes and skip straight to becoming a Bitcoin maxi?

Or will you have to learn the hard way?

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