Recently, I saw someone mention Guo Hongcai again, and it reminded me that his story is indeed quite legendary.

Speaking of which, Guo Hongcai's experience is like a condensed history of the cryptocurrency world. In 2003, he didn't do well on the college entrance exam and didn't get into Tsinghua, but he didn't give up. He moved north to rent near Tsinghua and attended classes as a listener while figuring out how to make money. By 2013, when he first encountered Bitcoin, the crypto scene wasn't as competitive as it is now. Back then, Garage Coffee was just an incubator for startups. Later, Li Xiaolai gave a talk there about blockchain, attracting a bunch of fans, and many of them made money.

Guo Hongcai officially entered the scene in 2014. At that time, Bitcoin prices plummeted, but he bought a lot instead. He also set up a mining farm in Inner Mongolia. Back then, the electricity cost to mine one Bitcoin was only about 5,000 yuan, and that mine produced 100 Bitcoins that year. In 2015, the bear market hit, and the crypto world was bleak. Many people went bankrupt and left, but Guo Hongcai didn't panic. Instead, he kept studying and watched movies to learn English.

In 2016, when attending the Davos Forum, Guo Hongcai wore a T-shirt and slippers, sitting among a group of sharply dressed financial elites, and explained concepts like Bitcoin, blockchain, and fintech in English, shocking everyone present. By 2017, the market rebounded, and Guo Hongcai's life started to take off. In August, he held a live broadcast with 100,000 viewers, recounting the development history of Bitcoin. He earned over ten thousand yuan in gifts during the stream. After the domestic policy adjustments in September, he launched the "China Tour" to guide investors.

However, good times didn't last long. In the first half of 2018, the crypto market was turbulent, and prices crashed all the way down in the second half. Guo Hongcai wasn't spared either. A video of him drunkenly revealing the truth circulated, admitting he had been "liquidated," saying he repeatedly bought the dip during the bear market and lost 400 of his 600 Bitcoins. This probably reflects the real situation many in the crypto world faced.

After 2020, Guo Hongcai experienced multiple bull and bear cycles, gradually adjusting his strategy to focus more on long-term investments. His story actually reflects the evolution of the entire crypto scene—from its early wild growth to its current relative regulation—where every participant has been tempered by the process.