Surviving and Thriving in Web3: If you're still here, you're GMI
Achievement unlocked: You completed 2022 on hard mode. You unlocked New Game+, continue playing with all obtained skills and knowledge?
If you’re feeling fatigued, overwhelmed or deflated from the Web3 space and Crypto Twitter, you’re not alone. If nothing else, last year proved that crypto is one of the most exhausting interests. Whether it be because of the relentless volatility, the risk of being hacked or the uncertainty of regulation, there are countless issues which it has faced and which it will continue to come up against in the future.
Considering this, if you joined the space in 2021 at the peak of hype and all time highs and stuck around until now, let me extend a virtual fist bump and nod of recognition to you.
I truly believe that you are going to make it.
This aim of this article is to reflect on the challenges a lot of us may have faced and highlight some effective tactics to employ going forward to keep up the momentum in building the future you want in Web3.
Topics:
Highlighting the challenges of spending time in the Cryptoverse
How to overcome
Buildoors with positive vibes
The challenges
FUD and crypto disasters
Here’s a small reminder what you went through last year:
The war in Ukraine - Prompting the initial 2022 crash in the markets, not to mention the general angst and crippling pessimism about the world and geopolitics.
Terra Luna - Wiped clean from the face of the earth within a couple of days, effectively deleting $40bil and ruining people’s lives
FTX - Bernie Madoff 2. Again, ruining countless lives and destroying billions in wealth
We in the crypto classes of 2020-21 had heard all of the horror stories about previous crypto cycles - the bear market apathy, scams, hacks and collapses in crypto exchanges, but 2022 was truly and endlessly s**t and it won’t be forgotten.
It is a heavy reminder of the real risks when partaking and investing in this space.
There is no denying that crypto is still in its infancy and it has a long way to go to rebuilding any kind of credibility as an industry. It is very likely that because of this, FUD will be rampant on ongoing throughout this year and into the next, which in itself will be exhausting and it will require some sheer will and determination to look past it.
It’s easy to be vulnerable to bad vibes when markets are down and mainstream media is hating on the industry. The cyclical nature of crypto demands a cull every so often which is necessary to drown out the scammers, s**t coins and overleveraged.
Information overload
If you want to know about a crypto project or protocol, there is no shortage of information in Web3.
Pick your poison: videos, blogs, threads, analysis, advice, newsletters, guides, charts and databases, there is bundles of information at your fingertips, people create it and just happily share it for free.
In my opinion, THIS is the best thing about Web3 communities, if you want to learn there is no financial barrier to entry. The problem is that it can easily feel that there is too much information and its difficult to understand where to start.
Unless you’re fortunate to be able to work full time doing research into the projects you’re interested in, you’re not going to have a lot of time to commit to this. Everyone has their own lives to manage too.
This can be overwhelming and can cause tunnel vision, because of this its easier to make worse and ill-informed decisions as you make them in a panic of missing out since you haven’t had the time to research properly.
FOMO
This leads nicely onto the one of the biggest challenge we face.
FOMO is a curse, especially to those new to the crypto space who haven’t had the opportunity to develop some self-discipline.
The reason the majority of people who enter crypto is to invest and make money, they are easy pray for moon boys looking for exit liquidity.
But even when you’ve been in the space a while and have more resilience its easy to succumb to the itch of chart watching or the obsession of chasing the next hype narrative.
The Web3 bubble
When you’ve been in the crypto space a while, because of the echo chamber that it is and especially if you’re an avid follower of Crypto Twitter, it’s very easy to get sucked in to thinking its the centre of the universe.
The surrealness of the crypto space can cause you to disassociate with real life in a similar way that porn causes people to disassociate with their sexual partners - heightened and unrealistic expectations, the desire for immediate gratification and excitement.
One of the beautiful things about Web3 is the sense of belonging and friendship that comes through tight nit communities who share similar interests and values. For those who can’t share these similar interests with people IRL, the digital world becomes home.
The only drawback to this is that for some communities, it can become cultish and cliquey where opinions and thoughts spread like wildfire. They are shared and re-shared to the point certain ways of thinking can become entrenched. It’s great when its just positive vibes and supporting one another grow, but this isn’t always the case.
An example of this is HODL mentality and profit shaming. Like many others I fell for this narrative hard. I felt it was reinforcing the values and ethos of Web3 by joining others, confident that eventually it would give me financial freedom.
But when price crashes, you’re left holding the bags and you eventually snap out of this mind frame, it can have a significant impact on your mental health and can skew your perspective of reality.
Life
The final challenge and certainly one of the toughest is the toll which Web3 can have on your personal life.
Being in crypto can be isolating.
When I first entered the space, predictably, it was for moonshots and lambos. There was plenty of chart watching and staying up into the early hours of the night wired and doing the mental calculations in my head by how many ‘x’ my coins would have to make for me to have financial freedom.
I was immediately humbled shortly after making a few investments when the market crashed in May21.
Because of this I turned to fundamentals and starting reading about the technology behind crypto and began developing my internal thesis of which protocols would disrupt the future the most. I got well and truly lost down the rabbit hole - the NFT boom didn’t help with this and probably exacerbated the problem.
On reflection, and referring back to the ‘Web3 bubble’, this had a massive impact on my personal relationships, mental health and general outlook on life.
For me, the hell of 2022 was exactly what I needed because it grounded me, drowned out the noise and gave me a lot of time for reflection.
Overcoming and thriving
Everyone got rekt last year, but this means you’re one of the few who managed to navigate the chaos and come out the other side.
I’ve broken down some steps to help you continue to overcome the challenges below. My hope is that this keeps you going and reminds you that the worst of it is likely out of the way, you have a golden opportunity to make something of this and quite honestly you deserve it.
Dealing with FUD
Crypto is inevitable, prepare for persistent FUD, zone it out and narrow your lens
This is your time to shine and the best opportunity to build real relationships and network
The noise of speculation is a lot quieter, learn about projects which will solve the problems we have now - these are likely to perform well in the next cycle
If you’re building a brand, use this time to find your niche
Share what you’ve learned and bring value to others
Information overflow
Invest time in making it easier for you to collect and absorb information
Real life takes up a significant portion of our day, don’t panic about missing out and forgo your IRL responsibilities
Use lists… or don’t. Learn the best way for you to organize your mind
Structure your goals into different time horizons, daily, weekly, monthly and don’t forget to reflect on them
App suggestions: Notion, Microsoft OneNote, Evernote
FOMO:
Ignore influencers and promotions of coins or tokens
Avoid meme coins, the majority of the time they are dogs**t
Sleep on it - practicing delaying your gratification, especially when you feel FOMO, will allow fresh perspectives and also strengthen your self-discipline
Web3 bubble:
Challenge the status quo regularly to normalize independent thinking
Avoid toxic communities and surround yourself with positive and driven people
Touch grass regularly
Price your assets in fiat currency to fully understand your real wealth
Get out of the habit of including illiquid JPEGs as part of your wealth - they can go to Zero.
Take profits, set stop loss triggers and DCA in and out of your investments
Life:
Keep in touch with friends and family
Learn how to share your interest in Web3 IRL (not about investing)
Don’t neglect your diet or your physical health, this can quickly erode your mental well being
Everyone’s life and experiences are relative, its important not to envy or compare yourself to others
There is more to crypto than gains, if you haven’t already - turn your passion into your hobby and use your knowledge to offer value to others and build up your network.
Educate, inform, share, create, program, streamline, advise, support, write, film.
There are so many opportunities from creating content and so many people to follow and learn from who have gone down the same route.
Regardless of the FUD, I’m long-term bullish on crypto and routing for creators sharing their hard-earned knowledge with others. One thing is certain, viewership is still low in relative terms on socials, if you stick around long enough and persist with creating quality content then you have a solid chance of eventually going parabolic yourself.
Thank you for reading!
f.