#Gate13周年现场直击 #我与Gate的故事

To everyone who rises and falls through cycles

You may not make money in one, two, or three years—but in the fourth year, you might earn a lifetime’s worth.

In that moment, I thought of many people—including myself—who have walked their way in the crypto world.

1. The “Time Illusion” in the Crypto World

Anyone who enters this market carries, to some extent, dreams of “getting rich fast.”

Every day you watch meme coins with gains of dozens or even hundreds of percent, and you come across stories about “financial freedom overnight”—it’s easy to fall into an illusion: that making money must be fast, and that you have to earn it now.

So you chase breakouts and cut losses, constantly running from one hot trend to the next, flipping back and forth between FOMO and panic.

If you haven’t made money after three months, you think you’ve failed; if you haven’t “cashed out” after a year, you start panicking and can’t sleep.

But when you look back, the people who truly changed their fate in this market almost all did one thing right: they entered when nobody was paying attention, they endured when the world was loud and chaotic, they waited when everything turned to collapse and despair—then, with composure, they left calmly during the peak of the next cycle.

2. Why “the Fourth Year”?

Here, “the fourth year” isn’t an exact four years—it’s a metaphor for a full cycle.

In the crypto world, a four-year halving rhythm sets the pace; bull and bear markets alternate like waves—regular, yet ruthless.

Many people fell in the first bear market; many couldn’t get through the turbulence of the second cycle; many didn’t even wait for the third wave to surge before they ran out of all their patience and capital.

And those who quietly accumulated during the bear markets of 2014, 2018, and 2022 often weren’t the ones who became rich in the second or third year. Instead, it happened at the moment the cycle switched—when the market suddenly moved from an icy bottom to a boiling point. The “chips” in their hands, empowered by time’s compound returns and the cycle’s leverage, completed the leap from quantitative change to qualitative change.

“Wealth doesn’t enter the gate of those who are in a hurry”—the ancients already told us: true wealth doesn’t like people knocking at the doors of the impatient.

3. What Are You Rushing For?

Perhaps it’s because you have a mortgage to repay. Perhaps it’s because your peers have already “cashed out.” Perhaps it’s because of your family’s gaze. Or maybe it’s simply because you “don’t want to miss out.”

But the market won’t change its rhythm just because you’re rushing.

In the crypto world, patience isn’t only a virtue—it’s the ultimate ability for survival and prosperity.

A real value network needs time to be built. A real ecosystem needs years to grow. Real consensus needs to be tested through the trials of both bull and bear markets.

When you choose an asset with a long-term logic (whether it’s Bitcoin, Ethereum, or an ecosystem you’ve studied in depth), what you need to do isn’t checking your balance every day. It’s like planting a tree: dig a hole, plant a seedling, water it, and then wait.

The first three years of quiet obscurity might just be for the fourth year’s flourishing growth.

4. How to Face “Three Years Without Making Money”?

- Invest with spare funds: Only money that doesn’t affect your life can help you get through the swings.
- Deepen your learning in bear markets: Understand technology, economic models, and ecosystem development—these insights will become your confidence for future holdings.
- Build a systematic strategy: DCA, allocation, rebalancing—use discipline to fight your emotions.
- Stay in the game, but you don’t have to sprint all the time: Bull markets are for cashing out; bear markets are for sowing seeds.

5. Finally

If you feel lost and restless right now, or feel powerless because you’ve been stuck, take a moment to think:

Are you here for a “quick money-making opportunity,” or are you willing to take part in a value revolution that could last five or ten years?

The script of wealth is often written at the deepest layer of time.

Those who bought Bitcoin in 2015 and then forgot their private keys were only seen by the world in 2021;

Those who in 2019 believed in DeFi—the crypto enthusiasts—received their “fourth year” in 2021.

We can’t predict when the next breakout will arrive, but we can choose:

To keep your belief when nobody believes, and to keep putting down roots when nobody persists.

The most precious thing in the crypto world has never been the code of a hundredfold coin—it’s the version of yourself that can make it through cycles and stays clear-headed.

Haste is instinct. Being able to slow down—that’s the real skill.

To everyone who practices through time, cheers.

Risk warning: The above is personal reflection and does not constitute any investment advice. The crypto market is highly volatile—please be sure to make decisions carefully and take full responsibility for the risks.