Finding the key to "Holding to Get Rich" in the crypto world from Duan Yongping.

Author: Haotian

Although “value investing” has become a misguided methodology in the crypto world, and although the market no longer rewards diamond hands, in the face of the market's relentless destruction and the endless complaints and grievances, I still try to find the original “Hold to Get Rich” wisdom that belongs to the crypto community from Duan Yongping's video interview clips:

Let’s take a look at a few of his most insightful core viewpoints: (with a personal interpretation from the cryptocurrency circle):

1) Buying stocks is buying a company; the challenge is understanding the company.

This sentence has been heard by 99% of people, but less than 1% truly understand it. Understanding a company means you need to be able to assess its future cash flow, business model, competitive moat, and management, and know whether it can still thrive ten years from now.

In the cryptocurrency space, I think we need to see if a project has the ability to cross cycles, understand its ecological niche in the continuous rotation of narrative evolution, clarify whether the team is purely chasing narratives or continuously achieving Product-Market Fit (PMF), and discern whether the Tokenomics is merely a short-term Ponzi trap or has long-term value capture capabilities.

2) Margin of safety does not refer to how cheap a stock is, but rather how deep your understanding of the company is.

This understanding overturns most people's perception of “bottom fishing.” Cheap things can become cheaper, or even go to zero. The true “margin of safety” comes from the depth of understanding: when you understand this company better than the market does, short-term fluctuations are just noise to you, or even opportunities.

Most holders in the crypto space are stuck holding their positions, while most retail investors chase after price increases and sell during downturns, completely disregarding the concept of a margin of safety. The real margin of safety should be: you are certain that the fundamentals of this project have not changed, the team is still building, and the value is severely underestimated. Only in this situation, a price drop should be seen as a buying opportunity.

3) I am a full-position advocate, holding cash makes me uncomfortable

If you truly understand the company and have determined its long-term value, then cash is just depreciating waste paper. Investment decisions are always based on opportunity cost; if you sell a stock and can't find a place with a higher return, then selling itself is a mistake.

The high volatility and unsupervised chaotic order of the cryptocurrency market are no longer suitable for most ordinary people to engage in “full position” behavior; the experience of holding coins and staying at the table for a long time is what matters most.

4) If you watch the market's ups and downs every day and talk about how the market is doing, it means you don't understand the company.

Real investors focus on the operation of the business, not on stock price fluctuations. K-line charts, technical analysis, and short-term trading are all seen as difficult games to make money in.

In the crypto world, if you want to understand a project, you should pay attention to its GitHub update frequency, technical innovation, community activity, and product iteration speed, rather than how many points it has risen or fallen today.

5) If you don't understand investing, don't touch stocks. Go buy the S&P 500 or Berkshire.

Copying homework is not sustainable, as you will always lag behind and never know when to sell. If you cannot understand the company, then admit this fact and hand your money over to the index.

In the crypto world, it translates to: If you don’t understand, don’t play with shitcoins; honestly invest in BTC, ETH/SOL.

6) Doing the right thing is more important than doing things right

First solve the right and wrong issues, then address the efficiency issues. It is acceptable to make mistakes in the process of “doing things right”, but knowingly doing something “wrong” brings negative consequences that should not be tolerated.

In the cryptocurrency space, missing out on tenfold gains from good projects is a matter of ability, which can be improved; putting money into obvious scams is a matter of perception, which is beyond help. The greatest tragedy is often not missing an opportunity, but actively stepping into a trap.

7) Once untrustworthy, anything said is untrustworthy

Duang Yongping left Xiaobawang because the equity commitment was not fulfilled, and trust collapsed. Once a person or organization loses trust, nothing they say can be trusted in the future.

This logic should be quite useful in the crypto space, but it is filled with a large number of teams that run away and then come back under a different guise to exploit investors. Real investors should establish a “blacklist”: teams that have broken trust, KOLs that have exploited investors, and protocols that have had issues, and never engage with them a second time. Trust is the scarcest asset.

8) Value alignment is very important; cooperation without agreement on values cannot last long.

Duan Yongping believes that companies should choose people who share common values, rather than primarily focusing on training. When it comes to investment, you should select projects that align with your values.

The biggest problem in the crypto space is that 90% of the project parties and investors have inconsistent values: project parties want to cash out and run away, while retail investors want to get rich overnight, and nobody cares whether this thing has any value at all. This misalignment of values is destined to lead to the short lifespan of most projects.

9) Knowing what not to do is more important than knowing what to do

Duang Yongping has a “not-to-do list”: don't do what you are not good at, and don't do what is unhealthy and unsustainable. His business vision is “healthier and more sustainable.”

In the crypto world, establishing a “do not touch list” may be more effective in preserving capital than chasing trends: avoid what you don't understand, avoid what is too complex, avoid teams with a bad track record, and avoid tokens with flawed economic models. Everyone is thinking about “where the next opportunity is,” yet no one asks, “what pitfalls must I absolutely avoid.”

10) AI is an industrial revolution, accompanied by a bubble

Duang Yongping's judgment on AI is very clear: this is a true revolution, but there will definitely be bubbles. His investment in Nvidia is not for speculation, but to “mix in a bit” and not miss out on the real transformation.

True innovation is always accompanied by bubbles and speculation, but that does not mean that innovation itself lacks value. The question is whether you can distinguish between what is true innovation and what is a scam dressed in the guise of innovation. The same goes for AI + Crypto; bubbles are certain, and innovation will definitely occur, it all depends on whether you have the wisdom and faith to “mix in a bit.”

That's all.

Duang Yongping's value investment philosophy is centered around the four words “cognition monetization”. Investing is not gambling or speculation, but rather capturing undervalued assets in the market through a deep understanding of the company.

The seemingly simple principles of “being responsible, integrity, and long-termism” have been proven to be the most effective moats in his decades of practice. The market is never short of opportunities; what is lacking is the insight to understand those opportunities and the determination to hold onto the chips.

Note: It is indeed quite healing to see the wise words of those who have achieved great results in their investments during times of market downturns, especially for those who still hold the belief in “long-termism”. Be sure to take a look, read, and savor. Let's encourage each other!