Garry Han's Undergraduate Application, Investment, and Planning Summary for 2023
Annual Summary for 2023
This year has been full of gains, not only in terms of academic progression but also in personal investment and life planning.
Academic Progression
I've come to recognize my own weaknesses and strengths. During the application season, I leveraged my strengths and circumvented my weaknesses, applying to social science programs or business schools. In selecting universities, I deliberately chose schools with strong resources in entertainment/crypto/media/investment fields, as these align with my future development direction.
The importance of a first degree is undeniable. I recently chatted with an elementary school friend who got accepted into Zhejiang University but chose to go on an exchange to Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. I joked that she was "reading backwards." As someone from Wenzhou, if I had been admitted to Zhejiang University, I likely wouldn't have chosen to study IB — it's genuinely exhausting. However, sometimes the biggest differences in life are the result of different choices, which is why I resolutely decided to leave the system and move to Shanghai to work outside of it.
I've learned that working smarter, not harder, can sometimes be very real. However, most people, for various reasons, don't choose to try it. If I were still within the system, I might have followed in Brother Sun's footsteps, competing in literary contests, focusing on English talent or studying a minor language to maximize my efforts. Unfortunately, there are no what-ifs. Having chosen a different path, I now see the gap in my once-favorite subject, English, as a form of growth. I firmly believe that English is a tool, and I hope to one day express myself fluently and effortlessly in all the fields I'm skilled in.
Personal Investment
At 18 years of age, I saw good investment returns in 2023, with an annualized profit of about 70%. Looking back, luck played a large role. My portfolio was primarily divided into two sections: 25% in A-shares, with the remaining 75% in Crypto.
A-shares did not perform well this year, with returns around -10% and significant pullbacks. The main reason might have been entering the market too early. By September 2023, I had already committed my base positions, with the rest being dollar-cost averaging. I bought stocks that I believed in, including media and hydrogen energy sectors. The main themes for 2024 will likely center on new energy, photovoltaics, lithium mining, and the media industry. Central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) deserve attention; the underlying logic is that large-scale debt resolution and deleveraging require revitalizing the capital markets, facilitating the private transfer of state debts. The A-share market is worth watching. The A-share market is worth watching. The A-share market is worth watching.
Crypto yielded excellent returns this year, surpassing what traditional investments might achieve in a decade. My proudest investment of 2023 saw up to a 500% profit, a seed planted in April that didn't come to fruition until December. I was not only excited about the wait but thrilled to have also encouraged friends and bosses to join me in this investment. Together. Together. Together.
My investment in Map Protocol began with research in February, followed by technical evaluations. In April, I attended the Web3 Festival in Hong Kong organized by Hashkey, mainly to discuss the project with Map Protocol's core builders and experience the rich Web3 atmosphere in Hong Kong. After meeting with James, I began buying $map at 0.016, due to my optimism about its potential. By May, I had organized my first business Web3 exchange event, Starry Night. Echo helped me bring together many entrepreneurial friends. Reflecting on it, I'm truly grateful for her help. During Starry Night, I heavily promoted Map Protocol's potential, and many people began investing. The price was at 0.012, and I even topped up my investment. My PowerPoint presentation was both aesthetically appealing and content-rich. I held on to my investment without once considering selling. Not even once. Not even once.
In February, I started exploring the Ordinals protocol due to the fair mint of Bitcoin Punks. I believed the protocol had great potential, but due to the complexity of running a full node, I didn't continue to track its development. However, I saved various Ordinals tutorials in my bookmarks. Looking at my bookmarks now brings a bittersweet feeling. It wasn't until April that I noticed brc20 and ordi and considered buying some at 1u, recognizing the concept's foresight and potential.
Unfortunately, I missed the Ordinals with the fair mint of Bitcoin Punks, recognizing its potential early on. However, I didn't pursue it further due to the complexity of running a full node, just saving tutorials in my bookmarks. Now, looking at those bookmarks evokes a sense of regret. It wasn't until April that I paid attention to Brc20, ordi. I thought about buying some when it was around 1u, given its forward-thinking concept and imaginative potential, but, unfortunately, I missed out. I admit I can be forgetful sometimes, and I plan to correct this flaw this year. Due to my academic commitments, I hadn't been following the developments closely until the recent rise of Cybord and Ethscription, which reignited my interest in capturing significant alpha, with the best yields reaching almost 300x, though I had only invested small amounts. I also encountered some rug pull projects but remained passionate. I believe the inscription craze actually represents the general public's pursuit of the 'fair' concept. As I continue to build GStar, I will pay more attention to the power of community, as its potential is immense. Its potential is immense. Its potential is immense.
December was not only my birthday month but also a season of harvest. Map's value soared from 0.007 to a peak of 0.06 in a matter of days. I executed a perfect swing trade, cashing out a portion of the profit, but I bought back into Map when the price fell again. I also participated in the $LSGS IPO. I will only consider selling my entire stake in Map when it reaches a market cap of 100 billion dollars. This is not just because of my belief in their project, but also due to the charismatic integrity of the founder, James—a person capable of achieving great things. Investing is about investing in people, and I trust my judgment. Hence, I believe Map has the potential to reach a market cap of 100 billion dollars, which implies at least 50x growth from its current valuation.
For the market in 2024, the trends seem quite clear. The arrival of Ordinals and the rise of btc layer 2 are signaling an impending crypto "renaissance." As for fair mint, some have already deemed it a victory for the retail investor, which I find reasonable. However, capital will always play a part in a market—it's essential to allow retail investors to earn excess returns within reasonable bounds, which might also be a direction for the future. Another important point is that in the Crypto space, almost everyone is a Bitcoin maximalist, meaning most are receptive to btc narratives. This belief system elevates btc to a near-divine status, and ordinary narratives struggle to sway them. They either hoard coins or engage in btc-related development. This means that the Bitcoin ecosystem could become the greatest common denominator in Crypto—as long as a btc ecosystem project doesn't falter in ethics and contributes positively to btc, it will be valued highly.
Based on this, I've looked into some btc protocols. Besides the highly promising Map Protocol (covering all chains with existing projects), Bevm (which I'm not optimistic about due to its lack of security and innovation), there's RGB and the Liquid ecosystem. I've copied an article to explain these two: 1. RGB's situation: Proposed in 2018, the slow progress of RGB's development also reflects its complexity and the challenges in implementation, indicating high barriers to entry for future developers and users. 2. Liquid's situation: Liquid is a Bitcoin sidechain serving institutions, essentially a permissioned blockchain. It mainly caters to traditional institutions and asset issuers with high security and privacy requirements. Liquid's primary functions revolve around asset issuance and trading, with limited support for complex smart contracts. Thus, Liquid serves a relatively narrow scope distinct from mainstream decentralized BTC Layer 2 solutions. Additionally, Tether, the company behind USDT, issued 1 billion USDT on the Liquid ecosystem in 2017.
领英推荐
Introductions to several Blockstream founding team members:
No wonder some say "Blockstream 'controls' Bitcoin" (though they certainly don't appreciate this characterization).
With the introduction of the Bitcoin ETF, future markets will undoubtedly see the entry of highly specialized institutions and large financial service providers. Therefore, given my bullishness on the btc ecosystem, the most suitable btc layer 2 for these behemoths is Liquid, including its main body, Blockstream—an extremely OG and professional btc company founded by Adam Back, who is cited in the Bitcoin whitepaper. Among the Liquid ecosystem is an exchange called Sideswap. To continue where we left off, the exchange called Sideswap is analogous to the relationship between Uniswap and Ethereum. Conservatively estimated, its current price is 1u with a total market value of 10 million dollars. I predict that by June this year, it could reach a price of 60u with a market value of 600 million dollars. This valuation seems reasonable to me, and I am in the process of reallocating some of my profitable investments to the promising and well-backed Sideswap. Sideswap's equity token sswp has the potential for a 60-fold increase. Sideswap's equity token sswp has the potential for a 60-fold increase. Sideswap's equity token sswp has the potential for a 60-fold increase.
Life Planning
I have a clear understanding of my life's direction; I wish to engage in activities I enjoy. I detest being forced to do things I dislike, and my temperament can vary greatly with the people around me. For example, my academic performance is highly correlated with my teachers' personalities. If I don't like the teacher of a subject, it's likely I won't enjoy the subject either, especially with science subjects. Male teachers tend to trigger my PTSD, which might explain my poor performance in physics. My mathematics is slightly better, thanks to a female teacher who I think is quite nice, hence my steady score of 7, occasionally 6, in math. As for physics, I usually score a 2, sometimes even a 1. I decided to adopt Brother Sun's attitude and not let my feelings toward teachers affect my approach to subjects, aiming to improve my physics grades.
It's highly unlikely that I will pursue academia in the future. Even someone as formidable as Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, realized at Princeton that a classmate from Sri Lanka could easily solve in 10 seconds the problems that baffled him for hours. Justin Sun couldn't secure the top spot in Peking University's Chinese literature department until he switched to history. So, I've ruled out the sciences and will reconsider the humanities. If I can use my Chinese language skills, I think I'll do well. But whatever I do, I aim to be among the best. Following this philosophy, I will first pursue what I enjoy.
Even Bezos has people he deems out of reach, so it's even more true for the average person. Hence, finding the right field to excel in is essential. Knowing that my university future lies abroad, I focused on growing my presence on Twitter and LinkedIn in 2023. I started from scratch on both platforms. I remember my barren LinkedIn profile, which I filled out meticulously, detailing my startup and personal information. I wrote several articles, combining heartfelt narratives with professional knowledge, and they were quite lengthy, around 2,000 words. On Twitter, I have a few viral posts, but less than 600 followers, similar to LinkedIn. I foresee exponential growth once the follower count increases. I plan to continue cultivating my Twitter presence and professional content on LinkedIn. Since I'm not resorting to shortcuts like buying followers or inflating traffic, this process may take a while. However, I believe that by early next year, my Twitter will break 10,000 followers, and LinkedIn will surpass 1,000.
As mentioned before, my university choices are focused on schools with strengths in entertainment resources/crypto majors/media studies/investment fields. In the future, I see myself working in fields including but not limited to event organization, talent agencies, Web3 economic platforms, private equity funds, and crypto exchanges. The trend is clear; in times of economic downturn, only sectors like entertainment and infrastructure can be profitable. So, it's about aligning with the times. With my planning and learning capabilities, I think 7 years in the industry will suffice to understand it thoroughly. The main focus will inevitably be here, but life is unpredictable. We'll see how it goes.
When discussing my current company and personal situation with others, one person thought I wasn't fully committed, and I think there's truth to that. However, people are often entangled in worldly matters. I'm still studying, and the future may bring various distractions. But I'm somewhat dismayed; entrepreneurship isn't really about methodologies—it's more about a feeling, the team, capital, resources. I hope to collaborate with like-minded friends in college. To me, the team is critical; I can strive for everything else. But if the team doesn't gel, it can be as uncomfortable as sitting on pins and needles. It all comes down to fate.
Perhaps in the future, I'll become a pastor and preach. But I think this will only happen once I've gained enough life experience to share His wonders and power with the world. I must remain kind and peaceful and devote myself to what I love. Life is short; I'm already 19 and still feel I know too little,have experienced too little.
I hope this year brings good harvests, with kind people drawing near and the wicked staying far away.
Let's strive together in 2024, Garry!
Founder of @GStarCrypto. Builder, Entertainment researcher, Music lover, Investor, Oriental Jew, Christian. #Web3 #Music #NFT #温州Wenzhounese
1 年GPT is good than a translator ??