In 2010, in Longhua, Shenzhen, I was tightening screws on the Foxconn assembly line for a monthly salary of 1,800 yuan. At night, I made extra money leveling up accounts in World of Warcraft.
Back then, my ex-girlfriend Xiaomei and I rented a place in an urban village. She said, “Let’s get married once we’ve saved up 100,000 yuan.” But then, despite having only graduated from junior high, she was recruited as a clerk by Chen, a 48-year-old executive at an investment firm, with a monthly salary of 8,000 yuan. In less than three months, she moved into an apartment Chen had arranged for her.
I went to her company to find her, but all I got was one sentence: “You’re just a wage worker. What could you possibly have to compare with Mr. Chen?” Then Chen even pulled out 20,000 yuan right there and said, “Take it, and stay away from her.”
I didn’t take his money. But that night, I used 20,000 yuan I’d saved from odd jobs and game boosting to buy out a position from an overseas player, exchanging it for 2,000 units of a virtual asset then called “Bitcoin.”
When Xiaomei found out, she yelled at me: “You spent 20,000 yuan on thin air? Have you lost your mind?”
I only replied: “You don’t want me anymore, so I’m taking a chance on the future.”
Time is the best amplifier: the tables turned in no time!
What happened next was more incredible than a movie script. When I was at my lowest after losing my job, Wang, the security guard, lent me 500 yuan. Auntie Zhang, the cleaner, saved me a lunchbox every day. Xiaohong, an office worker at Foxconn, helped me look for another job and kept a backup of my wallet for me. She said, “You can earn money again if you lose it. Just don’t let it break you.”
Eventually, time gave us the answer:
2013: My assets surged for the first time, and my account value topped one million. Xiaomei called and said she “couldn’t forget me.” I laughed and hung up.
2017: My assets surged again, and Xiaohong and I bought a home and settled down in Shenzhen.
2025: The value on paper of those 2,000 units I bought back then was now beyond comparison.
After a string of failed investments, Chen left a major financial institution. After being dumped, Xiaomei went back to being a working girl.
At an exclusive private dinner in Shenzhen in 2026, Chen brought Xiaomei along to meet influential people. Thinking I was a waiter, he sneered, “Well, look who’s here—working as a waiter now?”
To his surprise, the host bowed and ushered me to the VIP table: “Mr. Li, your seat is ready.”
Chen froze, then hurriedly handed me his business card. I simply said, “Mr. Chen, back then you gave me 20,000 yuan to leave. If you want to talk business now, you’ll need to make an appointment first.”
How can Web3 investors connect their investments across markets?
Many people think my story is just a feel-good tale of luck. But as a longtime investor, I want to say this: holding on is only the first step. The real skill in protecting your wealth is being able to smoothly convert Web3 assets and allocate them to high-quality assets around the world—such as U.S. AI tech stocks and leading Hong Kong stocks—through different market cycles!
Many people have made their first fortune in the crypto market, but when they try to branch out into U.S. and Hong Kong stocks, they often hit the most frustrating obstacles:
1. Transfers get bogged down: Moving funds between platforms is cumbersome, with slow reviews and high costs;
2. Complicated rules: It’s hard to understand multi-currency conversions and compliance boundaries, and one small mistake can land you in trouble.
That’s why so many experienced investors and institutions now use one-stop technology tools to connect across markets.
Take BiyaPay, which I’ve been using for a long time. It’s practically tailor-made as a “power tool” for cross-market investing:
Seamless connections across markets: Many users holding Web3 assets want to seize the recent rebound in U.S. AI tech stocks (such as NVIDIA and the computing-power sector) or Hong Kong-listed tech stocks. With BiyaPay’s system integrations, they can smoothly complete the process of “converting digital assets ➔ preparing fiat funds ➔ investing in U.S. and Hong Kong stocks”—without the hassle of moving back and forth between multiple platforms;
Transparent, with clear accountability: BiyaPay provides efficient technical support and access, while securities transactions are handled by qualified partner institutions. Fees and rules are clear, so you can invest with confidence and peace of mind.
Only when you seamlessly channel Web3 gains into a diversified portfolio of global assets can you truly build a solid financial safety net.
Your choices determine your limits
That evening, I made a point of inviting Wang, the security guard, and Auntie Zhang. Looking at Xiaomei, who was crying with her head bowed, Auntie Zhang sighed: “Girl, you thought he was poor back then. But when he was at his poorest, Xiaohong was willing to sit with him and share even a bowl of instant noodles.”
Xiaomei thought that being with Mr. Chen, who drove a Mercedes, would save her twenty years of hard work. Little did she know that what truly determines the future is how well you understand the world and how well you read the trends.
If you were standing at the crossroads in 2010, would you choose Mr. Chen with his Mercedes, or the working-class guy who dared to bet it all on the future with 20,000 yuan?