Crypto Gist: The Tech Bro Who Lost His Bitcoin Profit To Scammers

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 James; I’m South African.

It’s great to have you here, James. If asked, how would you describe your crypto experience in one word?

I don’t know; I guess I’ll say it's a lot. 

When did you get into crypto?

I got into crypto early or bought my first cryptocurrency early, but I wasn’t active in the crypto space until 2020.
Intriguing; how did you get into crypto?
Honestly, I can’t remember; it's been a while. I heard talks about bitcoin in the tech space, but first, I’m a front-end developer, so I guess crypto and blockchain were a conversation in my circle. I didn’t understand it much. For me, it sounded more like a project that could change the world. So I did a bit of background check and bought crypto in 2018. 

I didn’t have a lot of responsibilities then, and it sounded like a great investment opportunity. I’ll be honest; I think I was more interested in the next Google or Facebook that will change the world. So I was like, it started in 2008; this is 2018, that’s a slow start, but it's not that mainstream yet; I still have an opportunity to invest.

What did you do next?

I bought bitcoin, left it in my wallet, and moved on. 

Wow. Not everyone can do that; most people tend to get glued to their screens checking price updates.

I guess that would be me later, but then it was more like a long-term investment, so I was looking at cashing out at retirement, not immediately.

That’s an interesting perspective.

I suppose! I got into other activities, and every time I heard about bitcoin or as more people got more interested, I’d smile like I’d cashed out. I bought 2 BTC then; that was December 2018, so it was around 4k each. I can’t remember.

Impressive! Considering the price increase of bitcoin, retirement sounds good.

Yes, retirement sounds good, but that’s not just because of crypto; I have other investments. In fact, I kind of blew my first bitcoin investment.

How? What happened?

It was mid-2020, bitcoin’s price was above $20,000, and at that time, it was pretty mainstream in SA. I figured it was an intelligent investment choice to expand my crypto portfolio. I poured more than half of my savings into bitcoin, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies.

Now to be clear, bitcoin was still just an investment to me, and if I had done a little more research, it would definitely have gone better. I was looking at making more profits, so I focused more on buying undiscovered cryptocurrencies to maximise my profit. Therefore any coin that had some media hype, I bought immediately. Big mistake!

Unlike before, I was more interested in my portfolio, so I’d check my assets weekly to stay updated about what to buy next.  A few were good, like SOL, BNB, and ADA, but I ended up investing the most significant part of my savings into shit coins. Therefore, retirement was shaky now.

My retirement savings were down, but you know I cashed out on bitcoin, so I wasn’t entirely dissuaded. 

That’s great to hear. A lot of people tend to get discouraged here

I probably would have, but I still saw myself as a big-time investor.  I had lost some thousands, but I could still make more. I guess that’s the gambler spirit in me.

This time, I decided to do more research and also properly join crypto conversations. I’d say I was deceiving myself about delving deeper into the crypto space. What I was actually looking for was how to make my money back and more profits, and you know, scammers, they smell that greed off you, lol.

You got scammed! How did that happen?

I joined a few crypto spaces and made those crypto friends, and I shared my experiences of losing because I invested in the wrong coins. I don’t know how it happened, but these people convinced me I could still have profited from that if I knew when to pull out or how to trade. Hodling might have worked for me then out of luck, but I got convinced trading was the only way out.

Of course, like many crypto enthusiasts, I jumped on board because of fear of missing out and found someone within that circle to help me manage my portfolio, so I could earn money from contracting someone to trade for me. 

First few weeks, it looked like I was earning profits from that, so I diverted more funds into crypto. I was ripped off; it was a scam all along, and all my money was gone. I was removed from the telegram group, and that was it. 

That’s an awful experience; many people have gotten scammed this way.

I know, right! But for months, I recounted my losses; it wasn’t until this year I started again. Now, I was more interested in what crypto is and its benefit, and I even got a job as a web3 developer, so I guess this time, I was more equipped to get back into the crypto space. I’m yet to recover all my losses, but now I’m steadily growing my portfolio, and I didn't have to contract others to manage my portfolio. I could do that myself.

It’s a touching story, highlighting what many have experienced, but it is great to see the enthusiasm for crypto remains. 

We live and learn, right?

If you could advise crypto newbies, what would be your recommendation?

It's what everyone says, Do your own research. It could have helped me avoid all the mistakes I made. I think that’s why I really love what you guys are doing with the Yellow Card academy. That way, South African youths get to learn more about crypto because many people are getting scammed. So yes, remember, don’t share your portfolio details publicly you can attract scammers to you. 

That’s some insightful advice. It was great to have you here, James.

Thank you; sharing my experiences and lessons with the community is always nice.

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