From Hype to Perspective: My Crypto Journey Then and ...

When I first got into crypto back in 2017, everything felt new and exciting — I wanted to learn it all. Like many others, I was drawn in by the opportunity to make money, but also by the technology itself. Anyone keeping pace with tech trends at the time couldn’t ignore what was happening. It was the height of the crypto boom: Bitcoin dropped to $1,000 and then surged up to $16,000; altcoin seasons followed one after another.

Back then, I was slowly investing in some altcoins and Ethereum. For some reason, I avoided Bitcoin — even though I was telling others to buy it. Why I made that choice, I honestly can’t recall now. What really fascinated me was participating in new ICOs. There were tons of bounty projects actively promoting themselves on Twitter. It felt like a renaissance for new projects — the same kind of excitement people must have felt during the stock market boom of the 20th century.

About a year in, my excitement started to fade. I continued following the space passively, right around the time the market crashed. After that, I shifted more into real-world work and spent more time with family. I also focused on personal development — and I’d like to think I made some progress there.

Still, the desire to return to crypto never fully left. About a year ago, I began exploring the space again — researching what was active, what wasn’t. One thing that stood out: it’s now much harder for new projects to earn trust. Even with huge marketing budgets, they don’t gain the same credibility that projects had in 2017. Back then, getting a couple of known experts on board was enough to make your project look stable and trustworthy. Today, the bar is higher — a project needs to solve a real problem or streamline some real-world process. For better or worse, the era of simple, fast-moving crypto projects is behind us.

Another change is the level of technical and financial knowledge in the space. There are far more skilled individuals now — people testing different strategies (do they actually work?) and using software tools to automate trading. Sure, some of this existed before, but not at this scale. Maybe the rise in Bitcoin’s value influenced this growth. Still, one thing hasn’t changed: Bitcoin moves in waves — up, down, and up again.

It’s also interesting how political and economic news affects the market today. Years ago, a politician’s statement could tank Bitcoin by 20–25%. Now, similar news barely moves the price by a few percent.

Looking at Bitcoin’s centralization, the difference is striking. Large, forward-thinking players are steadily accumulating it. In many ways, Bitcoin has evolved into a financial instrument — a tool for saving and investing. It reminds me of how, 50 years ago, someone with capital would likely invest in energy. Today, younger generations are leaning toward crypto.

Of course, it’s still a bit unclear why people invest in something they can’t physically touch. But again, it all comes down to trust: the more people believe in a system, the more valuable it becomes.

At first, I wanted to fit everything into one article — how it started and where I am now. But I’ve decided it makes more sense to break it into two parts.