Crypto Gist: Meet Lola, the hustler, turned Crypto Baller!

Crypto Gist is a series that highlights the stories of real people around Africa around cryptocurrencies. Our guests share their crypto experiences - intro to crypto, wins, scams, losses and lessons. Would you like to tell your story? Don’t hesitate. Fill out this form to share your story.

Hi! Can we meet you?

I’m Lola, Nigerian, and a dedicated hustler. 

Nice! Lola! It’s great to have you here. How would you describe your crypto experience in one word?

Crazy! Super crazy and eye-opening!

Eye-opening, that’s an interesting take. How did you get into crypto?

I got into crypto last year, so I’m still a relative newbie. It’s been over a year, and I can tell you that sometimes that year can feel like a decade if you think of all the emotional outbursts from crypto.  A lot keeps happening, it just rolls past you sometimes, and it's like, how do I keep up?

Exactly! Tell me about it! So what’s it been like?

Sometimes, I can’t believe I’m in the crypto space. I was passively looking for a side hustle, so crypto came in like a shining light.  You asked how I got into crypto, so here it is. Long story short, guys on my TL, sorry timeline were constantly posting “BTC anyone?” “BTC at this rate?” I didn’t understand it, but I never bothered to look it up. One day, I went out on a hangout with a couple of friends. And, of course, we were taking pictures of each other, some immediately updating their snap and WhatsApp statuses.

We rounded up the event, and I shared an uber with one of my male friends who lived in my vicinity. While we were going, he mentioned someone was commenting on my picture on his snap. I asked which picture he had posted and proceeded to check his snap to see other pictures of me he had posted. I had to ensure they were my best! Lol! Never to be caught unfresh.

That’s the energy!

I noticed he was also posting that BTC thing guys usually post. I was like, “Guy! You’ve also joined their gang. He was like which gang and I showed him his post. He laughed but said nothing.  I replied to his snap, telling him I was ready to buy. He saw it, laughed and said I should stop teasing him. He mentioned it wasn’t my scene, but as per feminist, I was like, what are you talking about? He tried explaining a bit, but I was so interested in teasing him and tackling him with arguments that I never bothered to listen. 

Regardless, it piqued my interest, and I decided to look it up. That was it! I googled more, selected the first exchange I read about, and bought BTC. It was the most popular, and I didn’t know much about the others.

I bought N5,000 worth. It was money I could let go of. But, guy! No jokes! I started checking my phone every day to see when I should sell it. Every little dime matters! After checking for a few hours, I noticed some significant changes, and I quickly sold. Then, I was praying for it to go down, it didn’t go back to the price I initially bought it, but it kept rising. I quickly bought it before it went up too much.

Anyway, I sold and bought randomly for the next few days.  I felt I had made money. Dreamer girl! I was running at a loss; I tried to retrace my steps. Nothing! They said to buy high and sell low! Sorry, buy cheap and sell high, but why wasn’t it working? Why are my village people following me? 

Lol!  What did you do next?

I called my guy, David, “Like guy, how far now? Come and show me the way! You should see how he laughed at me, “like, who sent you? Do you think it’s that easy to make and earn money?”  I’d never felt so silly. I was like, I’m not doing it again. I was ready to sell off.  When he had his fill, he explained it wasn’t about buying and selling and told me to hold on. He explained he wasn’t perfect, but he would at least teach me what he knew if I was really interested. I wasn’t that keen, but if it worked out, that’s a side hustle.  

He mocked me a lot, but it's money matters, so I listened. He’d share PDFs, Twitter conversations etc., with me. Dave enjoyed instructing me like I was his student. He’s a big head like that! He told me when to buy, sell, etc., and helped manage my portfolio. I also purchased some assets without telling him.

I wanted to test-run myself. I lost money! I gained! It was super crazy. One minute, I’d think I’d unravelled the secret of crypto trading; the next moment, I was losing my footing. It’s been a whole lot.

True, it can be like that sometimes.

I understood why Dave said it wasn’t my thing, but I had committed my time and energy to this. I had to see it through. It was majorly baby steps, but eventually, I learned not to stare at my phone 24/7. I wasn’t cut out to be a crypto trader like Dave, but I became more of a holder, not a daily crypto trader. Now, I know better when to trade and track profits and stuff.

How has it been as a side hustle?

Up until the beginning of the year, I hadn’t made much profit. My initial capital was like a test run while I figured it out. Crypto wasn’t my only side hustle; I did ushering jobs as a student. What I did majorly was to invest part of my earnings from ushering into crypto. In the beginning, I was so dedicated to turning crypto into my major hustle that I made some mistakes.

What happened?

I would invest all the money I had made from my earnings into buying crypto. It was all cool at first, but then I had needs the earnings were to cover. As a result, I found myself constantly selling at a loss because I need to withdraw money to meet a need. I was literally shooting myself in the leg. I almost gave up, to be honest, but Dave was the one who set me right that every little amount I drop counts. I didn’t have to pour everything into crypto. All I had to do was build my portfolio painstakingly. It paid off, though. 

It has taught me to be very patient and analytical. Before crypto, I used to brag about my impatience, but I can better handle it now. I can’t remember the last time I took an ushering job. My major earnings come from crypto, and I’m definitely doing better than when I started.

How have you been able to handle your crypto investments?

As I said earlier, my mistake was trying to pour all my money back in, but now I have it all figured out.

I make significant profits from it, so I try to invest about half into my crypto portfolio, set some aside for my needs and a little saving in case of an emergency. This is Nigeria; you have to be on alert. And, of course, I keep some flex money. Flex money is very important. Abeg! I don’t want to be a mechanic; I want to be a baller!

Lol, doesn’t everyone?

I ball with my money; I earned it hard. I need to pamper myself sometimes. It’s all good now. Plus, I know more people in the crypto space now, so it's easier to get insights and it makes you feel like a part of a family. So yeah, it’s all good!

That’s a fantastic story! If asked to share insights with crypto newbies?
Find someone like David! He’s my friend and all, but he was super strict and had a lot of valuable insights. It was great to have a kind of mentor in my crypto journey so that can help you. More importantly, learn patience. What am I saying? You don’t need to learn; the crypto space will teach you.

Thank you for your time. It was lovely to meet you, Lola!

Thank you.

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