A9神话到负债百万，Meme玩家5年沉浮录

Original by 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 climate of an AI revolution and an unstable job market, many young people are desperate to enter this stable and secure system. Online, it's often described as "reaching the shore" when young people pass the civil service exam, seemingly indicating they have successfully escaped from the "sea of suffering."

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

"Being a civil servant is fine in every way, but the income is relatively low. I also want to earn enough money to retire early. Besides, young people staying in this kind of environment, which is so regimented and where life feels predictable from the start, naturally want to challenge themselves." Wanting to make big money and challenge himself were the main reasons Da Gen entered the crypto space. But perhaps he didn't realize back then that he would achieve both of his initial goals—just not at the same time.

2025 was the most turbulent year for Da Gen: He got close to an A9 net worth (over $10 million) by seizing the opportunity of Trump's official token launch (TRUMP), becoming a hidden crypto tycoon. But later that same year, he incurred debts of over a million due to losses from "making a market" for multiple Meme coins.

What exactly happened to Da Gen? How did this dramatic rise and fall affect his mindset? To understand Da Gen's crypto journey of highs and lows, Odaily Planet Daily conducted an exclusive interview with him. The transcript of the interview is compiled below, hoping to offer insights to our readers.

The Rise: Entering the Space via DOGE, an Early Meme Player, Nearly Reaching A9 with TRUMP

Odaily: How did you earn your first pot of gold after entering 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 when I first entered, ignorance is bliss. I used 30,000 RMB to trade DOGE futures, going long with leverage, and rolled it up to over 2 million RMB in less than a month.

Odaily: How did that feel?

Da Gen: I was just very happy. It instantly felt like I had come to the right place. The crypto space 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. During the "519 crash" that year, I basically got liquidated on all the profits I had made from DOGE.

Odaily: The crypto market entered a bear market after "519." Did you make money in any other sectors afterward?

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

So, I started looking for token information on Twitter. Tools like GMGN weren't available back then, so I manually tracked some addresses daily using Solscan. I caught many early opportunities, such as BONK, WIF, and POPCAT. Thanks to these Meme coins, my assets reached the A8 level (over $10 million) by early 2024.

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

Da Gen: Because I made money in 2024, I became very confident in Meme coins and the primary market. Whenever I liked a coin, I would invest at least tens of thousands of dollars. And because the market was good, I kept getting positive feedback. But profits and risks are two sides of the same coin; this habit eventually led to my debts. (Details below)

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

Ultimately, when the TRUMP price peaked at over $70, I cashed out gradually along the way.

The Fall: Continuous Bottom-Fishing on Meme Leads to Losses, Blacklisting the BSC Chain, Millions in Debt

Odaily: After such a huge success with TRUMP, why didn't you choose to retire?

Da Gen: I had an obsession with reaching the A9 level. I was so close. I thought it would be easy to get there, but I never expected the path to become so exceptionally曲折 (twisted and difficult). I completely failed to realize that market liquidity had deteriorated significantly after TRUMP. In the end, because of that obsession, I lost almost all the money I had previously earned.

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

Da Gen: I liked to play a "second dip bottom-fishing" strategy on Meme coins. But in reality, after TRUMP, most Meme coins were just a one-shot pump. I completely underestimated how quickly capital and attention would exit. Once a Meme coin starts falling, there's truly no floor. Coupled with my tendency to bet big, I lost a lot of money.

For example, take GOAT. When it dropped to $0.3, I bought nearly $900,000 worth, holding close to 1% of the supply. Compared to its peak, the price had already dropped 90%, but I never imagined it could fall another 90%. Similar losses occurred with VINE, TST, and BROCCOLI (714), among others.

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

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

After taking large positions, I also participated in community building. For example, with BROCCOLI (714), I was in a small group with Paris Bro and others. We tried everything to get 714 listed on Binance spot before the other two identically named Meme coins. (Odaily Note: BROCCOLI is the name of CZ's pet dog, but there were three identically named Meme coins on the market. 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 wallet. At the then-current market cap of around $100 million, it should have been worth about $1 million. Then, because Binance was also running a trading competition, we would organize and call on people to boost trading volume, combined with regular tweets and shilling. We even considered offline promotion, but it never materialized due to domestic regulatory concerns—no one was willing to take the lead.

But honestly, this coin wasn't being "manipulated" by just our small group. We were just a few whales with large positions, all trying to build our bags. The final outcome was beyond our control. Although BROCCOLI (714) eventually got listed on Binance spot, and we kept trying to support the price, it still dropped 90%. I lost over $1 million.

Odaily: How did this setback affect 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 trying to lure people in to take over their positions. BROCCOLI (714) perfectly confirmed this. This led to a feeling of disgust and disappointment towards the BSC chain and "domestic projects." I haven't touched BSC chain Meme coins since then.

Odaily: BROCCOLI (714) was actually a hot Meme on BSC in the first half of 2025. There were several rounds of Meme mania on BSC later, like Binance Life in the second half. Did you stop paying attention?

Da Gen: After BROCCOLI (714), I basically blacklisted the BSC chain completely. So looking back now, I missed the entire bull run on the BSC chain in 2025. But I have to pay for my own认知 (perception). I only started replaying BSC Meme coins at the beginning of this year because I finally realized I shouldn't have biases against any chain or project.

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

Da Gen: Small wins, big losses. Especially after BROCCOLI (714), I went to PvP on other chains. Within a few months, I had worn down all the money I had earned before. On one hand, I didn't have many backup plans left and was afraid to take too many risks trying new things. On the other hand, I was a bit traumatized by the losses. I became more timid and a "paper hand"—I no longer had the stable mindset I once had.

Starting around August last year, when my on-exchange funds weren't enough to cover my spending, I began to take out bank loans.

Odaily: So you are currently in debt?

Da Gen: I owe about 1 million RMB. I was too desperate to get back to breakeven at that point. I wasn't 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 Meme?

Da Gen: I never considered altcoins. US stocks crossed my mind, but it wasn't as convenient to trade last year as it is now. Now, both DEXs and exchanges offer low-barrier channels for crypto natives to trade US stocks, but back then they didn't exist. Traditional brokerage platforms for US stocks also have asset requirements. It was already a bit difficult for me at that point, so I gave up on that idea.

In the end, I still believe the crypto space is the best place for small money to make big money. Plus, it's what I'm good at. Fall down where you tripped, get up from where you fell. So I'm still playing in the Meme field now.

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, trying to get back to breakeven, I deposited it back. I didn't make big purchases like cars or houses after making that money because I already have a car and a house. Given my job, I don't have much need for luxury cars or mansions either.

Odaily: Has there been a significant drop in your standard of living since the debt? Has it affected your family relationships?

Da Gen: My living standard has plummeted. I have to pay the bank a large sum every month, and I'm struggling to keep up, so it has had some impact on my family too. It hasn't reached the point of selling my car or house yet, but if I can't hold on any longer, I might have to.

Odaily: Looking back on these five years in the crypto space, what are your reflections? You had a stable, secure "iron rice bowl" (civil service job), but these five years in crypto have been full of ups and downs, and now you're even in debt.

Da Gen: I guess I'm just a microcosm of countless people in this market. I've always heard 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 this position myself.

The biggest lesson I've learned is that you can't be too path-dependent or overly optimistic. If I get a chance to turn things around, I want to use my past experience and knowledge to take one more shot.

Related Reading

A post-2000s earner of A7, trapped behind three screens