I just came across a story that shows how quickly things can go downhill in the crypto space—and how important it is not to forget your beginnings.

Kiarash Hossainpour, 22 years old, a German investor with Iranian roots. His background still influences him today: His family fled Iran during the Islamic Revolution to Germany, his father was a computer scientist. This shaped young Kiarash—tech in his blood, caution in his mentality. At age 10, he got his first computer, at 13, his first YouTube channel. Nothing extraordinary, one might think. But then came Bitcoin.

In 2014, he received his first payment in Bitcoin for a WordPress website. That was the moment his mind started to turn. A fully virtual currency, decentralized, not dependent on banks—exactly what a whole generation of tech entrepreneurs found fascinating. At the end of 2015, he took the big step: nearly 40,000 euros in Bitcoin. His parents asked skeptically if that was legal, if it was "real" money.

Then he used his growing profits to market himself. A YouTube channel about finance, photos with Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce, Cuban cigars—the classic success story staging. Hundreds of thousands of followers. The advice was actually sensible: "Invest only what you can afford to lose." But the images told a different story.

Then Luna came. In May 2022, this cryptocurrency lost 99 percent of its value—in one day. Hossainpour had promoted it on his channel with messianic zeal. Suddenly, up to 90 percent of his portfolio was gone.

What fascinates me: He doesn’t give up. He says losses are "part of the game" and will continue to invest in Bitcoin. His father always told him that millions are just numbers on a screen. Maybe this lesson will help him now.

The interesting thing about this case study is not the tragedy—it’s the question of what we learn from it. Kiarash Hossainpour’s background shows a young man fascinated by technology, who can learn quickly but also be convinced quickly. The mistake wasn’t investing in Bitcoin. The mistake was encouraging others to invest in something he didn’t fully understand himself. Luna was the warning sign that even experienced investors can be blind.

Bitcoin is now at significantly higher levels than back then. The lesson remains: getting rich quickly is possible in the crypto space, but you can just as quickly lose everything. Those who influence others bear responsibility. That’s probably the most important thing Kiarash Hossainpour should take away from this experience.