The Borrowed Bet That Almost Buried Me

Man OCT 2025 has been a rough ride for so many of us in crypto. I remember scrolling X late one night last week, seeing all these posts from folks who'd just gotten wrecked in that Friday dip—Bitcoin and Eth tanking hard, wiping out gains overnight. One trader talked about losing half his stack, It hit close to home because that's exactly where I was a year ago, summer 2024, when everything crumbled for me. I'd started strong, you know? Turned $20k into nearly 180k during the early bull run, feeling like a king. X was full of those to the moon vibes, stories of people quitting jobs after one good trade. I got cocky, full ported into some narrative coins privacy stuff, perps, even a memecoin pump that everyone was shilling. Thought I had it figured out. Then the crash hit like a freight train. Portfolio? Straight to zero. Not a dime left. I didn't cry or anything, but damn, it stung. Friends were posting their wins, and here I was, staring at an empty wallet, rent due, and no clue what to do.

THE FOMO TRAP

I still remember the rush of December 2021. Bitcoin was ripping with $69,000, and the X timeline was a wildfire about “MOON” and “HODL” chants. I was 20, scraping by on a freelance gig, when I first dove into crypto. My portfolio was small just $500 I’d saved up, but the hype on X made me feel like I was one trade away from millions. That’s when I fell into the FOMO trap.
A hot new altcoin, was trending everywhere. Posts on X screamed, “100x incoming!” and This is the next Doge! I read stories of traders turning $1k into $50k overnight.