My Deep Dark Crypto Past

It looks like the crypto bull run is starting up again! 

But wait! 

Don’t let FOMO tempt you into making reckless decisions. 

Well, it did for me 2 years ago. It hurt to lose a lot, but the lessons learnt is priceless. 

Before I get into the gritty details, there are some terms and platforms you should know before I start my grandmother story.

1. DAO – Decentralized Autonomous Organization is run by a community of people who come together online. 
2. DeFi – Decentralised Finance is like a revolution in how we handle money and banking, but without the traditional banks. DeFi uses computer programs called smart contracts to manage transactions and loans.
3. MetaMask – MetaMask is like a digital wallet for the internet that stores cryptocurrencies and digital assets. 
4. Huobi – Huobi is a digital marketplace where people can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies and digital assets. 
5. Crypto Shilling – Shilling a cryptocurrency refers to the advertising of a project before it ends in a rug pull.
6. Rug pull – A rug pull is a type of crypto scam that occurs when a team pumps their project’s token before disappearing with the funds, leaving their investors with a valueless asset. 
7. Stablecoin – Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that seeks to maintain a stable value by pegging their market value to an external reference. This reference could be a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar, a commodity such as gold, or another financial instrument.
8. NFT – NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are unique cryptographic tokens that exist on a blockchain and cannot be replicated.

Read my article on how to invest in cryptocurrencies!

I also have 2 MetaMask wallets so feel free to check them out since they’re public addresses and you know that what I went through is for the world to see:

Wallet #1: 0x2a145b010D1bD6C179AD1d89Fe368D9aCA170FAC

Wallet #2: 0xFAf00936b5692E04cC42B47F83E1BB576dB86f84

Here’s a sneak peek of what’s to come:

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Crypto Project #1: Klima DAO

Introduction to Klima DAO

My first venture into the deep crypto web is with Klima DAO. 

In short, Klima DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and DeFi protocol that aims to drive climate action via a carbon-backed, algorithmic currency – its KLIMA token. 

Its goal is to encourage emissions cuts by pushing up the price of carbon assets.

I chose this token because Klima DAO was really similar to the popular Olympus DAO protocol at that time, except every KLIMA token is instead backed by 1 BCT (Base Carbon Tonne) token. 

The idea is to drive price appreciation of carbon credits in the VCM by buying and hoarding as many credits as possible from the market and locking them away in its treasury.

You can read more about Klima DAO here!

My Experience with Klima DAO

I opened my first Metamask wallet during this time and you may view the transactions I made on Polygonscan here! I try to explain my transactions below:

1. Convert RM150 into 25.21915820 matic on 2/22/2022 20:36:00 using P2P on Huobi. Fees of RM1.22 (0.81%) paid to Huobi. I made a mistake during this exchange because I didn’t follow the instructions on the guide to transfer the money to the seller’s bank account and was hit with a penalty. This mistake made me really nervous about using P2P to buy crypto ever since.
2. Converted 25 MATIC into 1.53697345 KLIMA using SushiSwap.
3. 1 KLIMA was estimated worth $24.31 on the day of transfer. 1.53697345 KLIMA (worth RM156.33 due to fluctuation of KLIMA token price at that time). As you can see below, the range between $21.75 and $28.84 on the day of transfer.
4. 1.53697345 KLIMA was staked on Klima DAO. 
5. I managed to let the sKLIMA compound within itself and then unstake 1.5 KLIMA (worth RM149.1 at that time) on 3/29/2022. On the same day, I swapped my 1.5 KLIMA into 1,043.89 Sphere Finance tokens.

Over time, the price of KLIMA token has dropped significantly. 1.071120547 KLIMA is left staked as of 3/8/2024, which is an equivalent of RM3.94 now.

Outcome of Klima DAO

Personally, I broke even (somewhat) since I deposited RM150 into Huobi and took out RM149.1 worth of Klima. I

have also found out that in 2023, KlimaDAO bought up 2% of the entire voluntary carbon market and has retired 17.3 million tonnes of carbon offsets. 

Therefore, financial-wise, I didn’t make a lot but it feels great to contribute to a more sustainable world.

You can read more about Klima DAO’s impact here!

Crypto Project #2: Sphere Finance

Introduction to Sphere Finance

I discovered Sphere Finance through the father of crypto, Jesse Eckel. I was interested in the main idea of this project where the treasury invests in governance tokens in the DeFi space and call themselves the S&P500 of crypto. 

Below was my initial research that I made when I was investing into SPHERE and LIBERO.

My Experience with Sphere Finance

1st Wallet

1. On 3/29/2022, I swapped my 1.5 KLIMA into 1,043.89 SPHERE. 
2. On 4/10/2022, I swapped my 143 Fantom into 122 Matic, and then into 2,721.75 SPHERE.
3. On 4/15/2022, I swapped 3,000 SPHERE for 171.49 Matic. I then swapped 170 Matic for 3.01 AVAX.
4. On 6/13/2022, Sphere v2.0 was launched where a new smart contract was deployed to improve on the bugs. 

2nd Wallet

1. On 3/31/2022, I swapped 33.8 MATIC into 1,624.20 SPHERE.
2. On 4/11/2022, I swapped 796 SPHERE for 35.52 MATIC

I currently have 3,713.85 SPHERE (worth RM12.06) in the 1st wallet and 2,969.77 SPHERE (worth RM9.62) in the 2nd wallet in my portfolio. 

From what I have gathered, I believe I made an estimated loss on this project of RM78.03 after taking out some of my initial capital.

Outcome of Sphere Finance

I believe the idea of Sphere Finance was cute, but it is a governance token in the end. It was similar to the idea of Olympus DAO, but with a burn mechanism in place. 

That way, it is considered a deflationary token.

The project can be successful only if its investors believe in the idea. I think the Sphere team had continued to stick through their intended goals with acquiring other projects like:

• Dyson – This is multichain and maximizes your yield. It gives anyone access to perpetual yield farming. Dyson has a Sphere Earnings Pool. You lock your SPHERE here and get governance rights in return. 
• SphereLend – This is the protocol’s lending market. You deposit stablecoins. In return, you receive yield from ETH or MATIC. 
• Galaxy Marketplace – Here you can buy SPHERE directly from the treasury. However, with a discount.
• Penrose & Unknown – These are yield aggregators & liquid wrapper solutions. 
• Preon – A zero-interest lending protocol. 
• Covenant – The bribing marketplace. 

There are also accusations that Jesse Eckel was shilling on Sphere… well, crypto definitely is a Wild Wild West.

Crypto Project #3: Terra Luna

Introduction to Terra Luna

Gosh this project made me swear off altcoins. 

I invested in a project called the Anchor Protocol, a platform built on Terra that lets investors earn a high yield on their deposits and also borrow against their crypto holdings. 

Imagine a rogue bank with an amazing savings interest rate, that’s what it was. 

The idea was really popular because of the use of stablecoint UST and Anchor was offering almost 20% APY (annual percentage yield) at the time.

You can read more about the white paper docs on Anchor protocol here!

My Experience with Terra Luna

My Terra wallet: terra19ukugz60r2n5zu9v5v5hlu7k8luvkmtw5xrwzs

1. On 3/15/2022, I transferred 47.162715 ust (approximately worth RM198.40) into my terra wallet
2. On 3/19/2022, I transferred 155.510388 ust (approximately worth RM652.18) into my terra wallet
3. On 3/22/2022, I transferred 165.493893 ust (approximately worth RM697.89) into my terra wallet

Oh my gosh, I actually lose a total of RM1,548.47??? 

I really thought that I suffered a loss of RM800+ all this years without actually knowing the true amount T.T 

Outcome of Terra Luna

In the end of March 2022, Terra proposed floating interest rates for the Anchor platform, reducing rates by 1.5% from May 1 (from 19.5% to 18%). 

This move, coupled with hints of further cuts, alarmed depositors. On May 7, $85 million worth of UST was sold on Curve exchange, briefly “depegging” UST from its 1:1 ratio, causing a “death-spiral.” 

Panicked depositors withdrew funds from Anchor, shaking confidence in Terra. LUNA’s price plummeted 99.99%, prompting more withdrawals and leading to Terra’s blockchain shutdown. 

Despite efforts to bolster UST’s price, it plummeted to below 20 cents, forcing the project’s team to concede defeat. 

Now Do Kwon (the creator of Luna) is on the run and investors still suffer massive financial loss.

Looking back, I definitely felt to FOMO when I saw people confidently putting their life savings into a project that they believe will generate them good returns. 

I’m lucky that although I felt like I lose a lot of money (1.5k is like A LOT for me back them), I also got to learn this painful experience early on. 

I was glad to experiment and have the courage to try different kinds of crypto investing.

To learn more about the impact of the fall of Terra Luna on people, here’s an article about a Malaysian losing his entire life savings because of Luna.

Crypto Project #4: Polar Finance

Introduction to Polar Finance

This is one of the most interesting projects that I invested in. 

Polar Node, launched on January 11th, 2022, operates on Avalanche Blockchain, offering passive income based on node tiers, yielding $1 to $85 daily. 

Similar to other node projects, it aims for sustainable passive income, where investors receive daily payments from investments and node purchases. 

Initially, only one tier existed, requiring 55 $Polar tokens to create a node, yielding 0.99 $Polar daily. 

Later, additional tiers were introduced after an update, broadening the options for participants.

The best thing is that when you buy a node, you also get an NFT on that node!

My Experience with Polar Finance

1. On 4/15/2022, I transferred 2.1327786523 AVAX (worth approximately RM173.89) for 65 POLAR and bought a Mont Blanc node.
2. On 8/7/2022, I generated enough POLAR to buy another Mont Blanc.

You can see my NFT collection here!

Outcome of Polar Finance

It’s been a while since I checked in on this project and I thought it was dead, until I realised that they have revamped themselves. 

Apparently the Polar team has worked to migrate themselves from Avalanche network to Polygon network and developed a few games on their site. 

Their primary objective is to establish itself as one of the first DAOs in the video game publishing industry.

I’m very curious to see what will come out of this project since the team is still quite active in building stuffs. I probably won’t invest into it anymore, but will keep an eye on it.

You can check PolarFi here!

Crypto Project #5: Other Tokens

Since I’m reaching the word limit for the newsletter, I’ll just briefly explain how I got the other coins.

TITANO – Bought 515.69 TITANO. Titano token has automatic staking and compounding features, and the APY of 102,483.58%, a daily ROI (Return On Investment) of 1.917%. They rebranded themselves as Swych but I have noooo idea what they’re up to. Lazy to find out >.<

COMB – Bought 0.0934 COMB. COMB Financial offer a range of farming and yield optimizing services, and share protocol revenue with investors who lock up their COMB in the zCOMB revenue sharing vault. No activity in the project after 2022, so assumed that this is dead.

BEETHOVEN-X – Bought 0.01271 BEETS. Beethoven X is a decentralized market making protocol that lets anyone trade or provide liquidity (to earn trading fees). The team is still active on their Discord, so the project is probably still alive lol.

PRAGMA – Bought 3111.40272 PRAGMA. Pragma is an FTM-Native mathematically enhanced rebase token, offering the highest FIXED APY on FTM and one of the fastest payout in the industry. Apparently some people stole from the treasury funds back in May 2022 and they pursued a police investigation. Nothing significant happened after.

FLIBERO – Bought 519,127.37 FLIBERO. The Highest Paying Dual Rewards Auto Staking Protocol with the World’s Highest Fixed APY of 543.27%. The coin is basically worthless but the coolest thing they did is appearing on the Times Tower at New York lol.

Shiba Inu – Got for free from Huobi. Now it’s worth RM2.23.

Cordana – Got for free from Huobi. Now it’s worth RM3.46.

Conclusion

I made a total loss of RM2,998.47 (more or less) with my crypto experiments. 

This is a big lesson learnt from me as I was getting myself into things I didn’t understand and followed what the crypto influencers did.

Also not to mention, I was really attracted by the insanely attractive APY.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty sure DeFi is a great way to learn to make money, but the risks are also high. 

I’m trying to squeeze in as much info as possible, but if you’re confused about certain crypto terms, send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll try to help you out as much as I can! 

My current strategy for crypto works out best for me, which is to DCA into Bitcoin and Ethereum on Luno every month.

Check out my review on Luno Malaysia here! 

If you want to invest with lower fees and more cryptocurrency coins available, check out my review on Hata here!

To me, simple is great and not sexy at all. My portfolio is up by over 120% and it feels like this is my comfort zone.

Till next time!