Today I was chatting with friends from various industries outside the crypto circle—tech, cross-border trade, e-commerce—and they all have a pretty negative view of crypto people. When I mentioned I'm in crypto, their expressions completely changed. But I managed to defuse it by clarifying that I'm just a brick arbitrageur in the crypto space, a retail investor who's constantly losing money.

Honestly, I can't blame people for their bias. There are too many people in crypto who just say whatever comes to mind, making random promises, painting grand pictures, and casually backing things up with their credibility just to brag. They've completely tanked the whole circle's reputation.

Now that I think about it, I used to have this same bad habit—always agreeing to things off the top of my head, and I got a lot of flack for it. I fell into plenty of traps because of this.

But I've really figured it out now: trust is the most precious asset, and it simply can't withstand casual depletion. Every casual promise you make, every time you vouch for something carelessly, you're putting your credibility on the line. If you fail to deliver even once, people's trust in you takes a hit. Once you've exhausted it, there's no way to get it back.

So I've learned my lesson. I don't dare make random promises to people anymore. When something comes up, I listen quietly until the other person finishes what they have to say. I only speak up if I can actually deliver. If I can't, I absolutely won't make empty guarantees. Because no matter which circle you're in, being someone people can actually trust is your strongest trump card.