A9 신화에서 백만 빚까지, Meme 플레이어 5년간의 부침 기록

Original｜Odaily Planet Daily（@OdailyChina）

Author｜Golem（@web3_golem）

Da Gen is an ordinary civil servant within the system—a stable job with high social recognition. Especially in the current environment of the AI revolution and unstable job market, many young people are desperate to enter this stable and secure system. On the internet, those who pass the civil service exam are often described as having "reached the shore," as if they have successfully escaped from a "sea of suffering."

However, the system is also a walled city: those outside want to get in, and some inside want to get out. Da Gen is one of those "insiders" who wanted out, and stepped into the crypto circle 5 years ago.

"Being a civil servant has its perks, but the income is relatively low. I also want to make money early and retire. Besides, young people staying in such a routine environment where 'you can see your life at a glance' will inevitably want to challenge themselves." Wanting to make a lot of money and challenge himself were the main reasons Da Gen entered the crypto space. But at that time, he probably didn't expect that both the goals he set upon entering the circle would be achieved—just not at the same time.

2025 was the most turbulent year for Da Gen: he got close to A9 (a net worth of 9 figures in RMB) by seizing the opportunity of Trump's token launch (TRUMP), becoming an invisible crypto tycoon. However, he also ended up owing millions in debt that same year due to "market making" for multiple Meme coins.

What exactly happened to Da Gen, and how did this dramatic rise and fall affect his mindset? To understand his crypto journey of ups and downs, Odaily Planet Daily conducted an exclusive interview with him. The transcript of the interview is organized below, hoping to provide some insights to readers.

The Rise: Entered the Circle via DOGE, an Early Meme Player, TRUMP Single Coin Nearly Reached A9

Odaily: How did you make your first pot of gold after joining the crypto circle?

Da Gen: Let me start from the beginning. I entered the crypto space around the end of April 2021. I was attracted by the overwhelming news about DOGE. From April to May that year, DOGE surged over 10 times, and its all-time high ($0.73) was set during that period. Although I was a newbie, ignorance is bliss. I used 30,000 RMB to trade DOGE futures, going long with leverage, and within less than a month, I had rolled it into over 2 million RMB.

Odaily: How did you feel at that time?

Da Gen: I was just overjoyed. I instantly felt that I had come to the right place. The crypto circle is truly a place full of opportunities. That was my first time making big money. But that money didn't stay in my pocket for long, because during the "519" crash that year, I basically lost everything I had earned from DOGE.

Odaily: After "519," the crypto market entered a bear market. Did you make money in any other tracks later on?

Da Gen: I didn't choose to leave the circle. After 519, I kept chasing hot topics in the crypto space. But from 2021 to 2023, I didn't make any significant money. It wasn't until the beginning of 2024 that I noticed some small-cap tokens on the Solana chain on the MEXC exchange were skyrocketing, with gains of 20 to 30 times. At that time, very few players in the Chinese-speaking community were involved in this area.

So, I started searching for token information on Twitter. There weren't convenient tools like GMGN back then, so I manually tracked some addresses on Solscan every day. I caught many early opportunities, such as BONK, WIF, and POPCAT. By early 2024, my assets had reached A8 (a net worth of 8 figures in RMB) thanks to these Meme coins.

Odaily: So you were one of the earliest Meme coin players in the Chinese-speaking community. Which Meme coin made you the most money?

Da Gen: Having made money in 2024, I was very confident in Meme coins and the primary market. I would invest at least tens of thousands of dollars into any token I liked. And because the market was good, I kept getting positive feedback. But profits and losses come from the same source; this habit ultimately led to my debt. (Details below)

The Meme coin that made me the most money was TRUMP, launched by Trump in early 2025. That was also the closest I ever got to A9. I bought TRUMP very early, at around $0.7. At the time, I monitored the address 0xsun on-chain and saw it had bought about $2 million worth of TRUMP at around $0.6. Then I checked the official website and found a legitimate payment channel, so I figured it was likely not a scam and bought $100,000 worth.

In the end, when the price of TRUMP rose to the high point of over $70, I gradually cashed out and exited.

The Fall: Continuous Bottom-Fishing in Memes Led to Losses, Blacklisted the BSC Chain, Owing Millions

Odaily: You achieved such a big result with TRUMP. Why didn't you choose to retire?

Da Gen: I was still obsessed with reaching A9. I was just a bit short. I thought it would be easy to earn the rest, but I never expected the process to become so tortuous. I completely failed to realize that market liquidity had gradually deteriorated after the TRUMP frenzy. In the end, because of this obsession, I basically lost all the money I had earned.

Odaily: Can you elaborate on your process of losing money?

Da Gen: I liked to do two rounds of bottom-fishing for Memes. But in reality, after TRUMP, most Memes were just one-shot deals. I completely underestimated how quickly capital and attention would exit. Once a Meme coin starts falling, there really is no bottom. Coupled with my tendency to make large bets, I lost a lot of money.

For example, GOAT. When it dropped to $0.3, I bottom-fished with nearly $900,000, holding close to 1% of the supply. Compared to the all-time high, the price had already dropped 90%, but I never expected it to fall another 90% from there. Similar losses occurred with VINE, TST, and BROCCOLI (714).

Odaily: After experiencing such a significant loss, didn't you adjust your strategy?

Da Gen: That's the problem of path dependency. Because I had been making money this way in the past, I believed this method was universally applicable, ignoring changes in market environment and liquidity.

After accumulating a large number of chips, I also participated in community building. For instance, with BROCCOLI (714), I was in a small group with Bali Ge and others. We tried various ways to get 714 listed on Binance spot before the other two Meme coins with the same name. (Odaily Note: BROCCOLI is the name of CZ's pet dog, but there were three Meme coins with the same name on the market at the time. Binance eventually used a community voting method for listing.)

Odaily: What did you do to build up BROCCOLI (714)?

Da Gen: One person in our small group directly sent 1% of the tokens to CZ's address. Based on the market cap of $100 million at the time, it was worth about $1 million. Then, because Binance was also running a trading competition, we organized and called on people to boost trading volume, along with posting tweets and shilling. We even considered doing ground promotions, but later abandoned the idea due to the regulatory environment in mainland China—no one was willing to take the lead.

But honestly, this coin wasn't "manipulated" by our small group. Ultimately, we were just some whales with a lot of chips, all trying to build up our own positions. We couldn't control the final outcome. Although BROCCOLI (714) eventually got listed on Binance spot, and we kept trying to support the price, it still dropped 90%, and I lost over $1 million.

Odaily: What impact did this setback have on you later?

Da Gen: BROCCOLI (714) was the last straw for me, both financially and in terms of my investment strategy. There's a saying that has circulated in the community: A good project doesn't need people to build it; projects that need building are just luring people in to take over their bags. BROCCOLI (714) perfectly proved this point. This led me to develop a feeling of disgust and disappointment towards the BSC chain and Chinese-backed projects. I haven't touched any BSC chain Memes since then.

Odaily: BROCCOLI (714) was actually a popular Meme on BSC in the first half of 2025. Later, there were multiple Meme booms on the BSC chain, like 'Binance Life' in the second half of the year. Did you stop paying attention?

Da Gen: After BROCCOLI (714), I basically blacklisted the BSC chain. So, looking back, I missed the entire bull market on the BSC chain in 2025. But I'm paying for my own cognitive bias. I only started playing BSC Memes again earlier this year because I finally realized that you shouldn't have prejudice against any chain or project.

Odaily: So, to be precise, in 2025, apart from making nearly A9 on TRUMP at the beginning, you were gradually losing money for the rest of the year?

Da Gen: Small wins, big losses. Especially after BROCCOLI (714), I went to other chains for PvP, and within a few months, I had worn away all the money I had previously earned. Partly because I didn't have many backup plans left and was afraid to experiment too much; partly because I was scarred and became more timid and paper-handed, losing the mental stability I used to have.

Starting from around August last year, when my capital in the market wasn't enough to squander, I began taking out loans from the bank.

Odaily: So you are currently in debt?

Da Gen: I owe about 1 million RMB. At that time, my desire to break even was too strong. I was actually not very rational anymore.

Odaily: Didn't you consider switching to another track? Like altcoins, prediction markets, RWA, or even US stocks? Or were you solely focused on Memes?

Da Gen: I didn't consider altcoins. I did consider US stocks, but it wasn't as convenient last year as it is now. Nowadays, both DEXs and CEXs offer low-barrier channels for crypto players to trade US stocks. Back then, they didn't exist. And traditional brokerage platforms for US stocks had asset requirements, which was already difficult for me, so I gave up on that idea.

In the end, I still believe the crypto space is the best place to leverage small amounts for big gains, and it's also something I'm good at. I fell here, so I'll get up here. That's why I'm still playing in the Meme field.

Odaily: When you got close to A9 in early 2025, didn't you think about cashing out for savings or buying some real estate?

Da Gen: I did withdraw some, but later, wanting to break even, I deposited it back. I didn't spend the money on cars or houses because I already have them. And given my job, I can't really have a need for luxury cars or mansions.

Odaily: Has the lifestyle gap been significant since going into debt? Has it affected your family relationships?

Da Gen: Life-wise, my consumption level has dropped sharply. I have to pay the bank a lot every month, and I'm almost unable to keep up. So it has had some impact on my family. It hasn't reached the point of selling my car or house yet, but if I can't sustain it, I might have to sell them eventually.

Odaily: Looking back on these five years in the crypto circle, what are your thoughts? You originally had a stable "iron rice bowl" job, but these five years in crypto have been tumultuous, and now you are even in debt.

Da Gen: Maybe I'm just a microcosm of countless people in this market. I used to hear that the most common type of person in this circle is someone who gets rich overnight and then goes bankrupt. I never thought I would end up in the same situation.

The biggest lesson I learned is not to be too path-dependent or overly optimistic. If there's still a chance to turn things around, I want to use my past experience and knowledge to take one more shot.

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