Scott Melker shared tidbits of wisdom he has picked up during his crypto journey.
Laden with stories of successes, failures and everything in between, history is filled with figures who have led the way for others to learn from their mistakes and advancements. The crypto industry is a relatively young sector, starting in 2009. Crypto industry players with years of experience under their belt have likely seen a number of pivotal events amid the sector’s early formation, able to tell a tale or two of the times, as well as share their knowledge with later generations. One such experienced crypto personality touting wisdom to share is that of Scott Melker, also known as “The Wolf Of All Streets” on Twitter.
“Learning about bitcoin sent me down a rabbit hole to better understand the problems with fiat money and the legacy financial system,” Melker told me in a direct message as one of the two most important lessons crypto has taught him. “Once you take the orange pill, there’s no turning back.”
Formerly wearing the career hats of producer and DJ, Melker dove into the crypto industry in 2016. Well-known in the crypto space with a Twitter audience of more than 800,000 followers, Melker now has his hand in multiple crypto-specific endeavors, including investing, trading and podcasting.
In the crypto industry, taking the orange pill essentially means learning about bitcoin — seemingly a shoutout to a scene from the movie The Matrix in which the main character Neo is offered a blue or red pill, each leading to different futures. (Bitcoin’s logo is orange.)
Initiated in 2009 as the first crypto asset that ultimately kickstarted the surrounding sector, bitcoin BTC (BTC) is still the largest crypto asset with a market capitalization of more than $400 billion according to CoinMarketCap at time of publication. Bitcoin, at its core, touts a number of strengths when compared to traditional money, metals and other items of value. For example, owners can send BTC digitally across the globe without relying on traditional intermediaries such as banks. BTC also has a fixed maximum coin supply and holders can digitally self-custody (self-store) their BTC. Additionally, bitcoin is not directly tied to any government or border. At a 21 million coin maximum supply, the asset also may look attractive as a store of value given the number of people in the world, pending increasing adoption and demand.
[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]
In contrast, fiat money supplies (such as that of the U.S. dollar) can be altered, and the value of the currencies themselves are essentially tied to the actions of their related governments. Additionally, sending fiat money, at least in the United States, typically calls on banks or other middlemen to facilitate and settle the transactions.
BTC does have its drawbacks, however. The asset’s value has historically risen and fallen dramatically in price. Bitcoin’s price has climbed to significant heights in the years following its inception, but that does not mean the same will happen in the future. Putting money into the asset and watching its value decrease significantly can also be a difficult pill to swallow, especially given the asset’s youth compared to assets such as gold.
Regarding his other top lesson learned in crypto, Melker noted “the importance of being an investor first, having a low time preference and zooming out.” The crypto market moves quickly in terms of price, news and development, which can draw attention toward shorter-term action while distracting from larger concepts and convictions. Melker’s comment essentially speaks to investing (making fewer moves in the market compared to trading), looking at market plays with the longer-term future in mind rather than the short-term (low time preference) and stepping back to evaluate the big picture.
Disclaimer: I actively trade cryptocurrencies, as well as hold a small amount of BTC, gold, silver, ETH ETH , LTC LTC , ZEC ZEC , BCH BCH , LINK LN LINK and CNFI.
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