2019-2021, Overseas Investment Phase#
- In 2019, I lost confidence in the A-share market and did two things.
- I accidentally discovered the US and Hong Kong stock markets because I saw an advertisement for the international version of Dongcai on Dongfang Finance. With a try-it-out attitude, I opened a door. After learning online, I found that Futu NiuNiu, a well-known software in China, had already entered the US and Hong Kong stock markets for several years.
- At the end of 2019, I returned to the cryptocurrency market. Playing the US and Hong Kong stock markets was not satisfying enough, and I wanted to explore more investment opportunities. I had dabbled in cryptocurrency with a few hundred yuan earlier, but at that time, I was solely focused on the A-share market. At the end of 2019, I remembered the cryptocurrency market again.
Hong Kong IPOs and US-Hong Kong Trading#
- Alibaba's return to the Hong Kong stock market ignited my interest in Hong Kong IPOs. I remember seeing it on Dongcai and that's how I got into it. The special features of Hong Kong IPOs are the ability to finance and the availability of pre-market trading. I remember making a profit of several thousand yuan from Alibaba's IPO, which got me really excited. I went all in and truly made a good profit from Hong Kong IPOs.
- However, the pace of Hong Kong IPOs is relatively slow. You have to choose high-quality new stocks, otherwise, they are prone to price drops, and the waiting period is long. I couldn't stand the boredom, and at that time, I saw the US and Hong Kong stock markets rising every day, so I couldn't resist jumping in. I vaguely remember that the hottest stocks at that time were new energy vehicles like Tesla, NIO, and Xiaopeng. Unfortunately, they were hit by the pandemic, and the US stock market experienced epic crashes and circuit breakers multiple times. I lost some money, and thinking about it now is really regretful.
Cryptocurrency Market#
- At that time, the hottest trends were DeFi lending and liquidity mining, with new concepts being hyped every day. I got caught up in the hype and invested a portion of my money in it. I used DeFi lending and ended up holding nearly 30 Ether (I vaguely remember the cost being above 260 USD). I fantasized about it skyrocketing. However, the price kept dropping every day, and soon it had dropped by 20-30%. I was shocked and felt a deep sense of loss.
- When the pandemic hit, the cryptocurrency market and the US stock market experienced a simultaneous crash, but the difference was that the cryptocurrency market crashed overnight. I vividly remember a cold and windy evening when the prices plummeted. Bitcoin dropped to 3,000 USD, and Ether dropped to 80 USD. My portfolio was almost at its lowest point. The next day, the market didn't recover much, and what was terrifying was that the DeFi lending I had invested in was close to the liquidation line. If it reached that point, I would have lost everything. So I quickly used emergency funds to buy 5,000 RMB worth of Ether.
- After that, I became a bit disheartened with the cryptocurrency market. I lost tens of thousands of yuan, but I couldn't bring myself to sell. However, it was also miraculous that during the pandemic, despite the panic, the cryptocurrency prices didn't drop much further. I was stuck for half a year, and then miraculously, things turned around. NFTs became popular, and I sold my Ether and moved on to other investments, successfully missing out on the cryptocurrency bull market of 2021.