I stumbled upon an old picture, which is a miner's bitter complaint from many years ago.

That guy could mine 0.5 BTC in a day back then, sounds pretty impressive, right? But when you do the math, the earnings just cover the electricity bill, and he even had to pay a little extra out of pocket. He thought to himself: this thing has no future! He decisively shut down the machine and announced the bankruptcy of his first "gold rush dream."

What about now? If this old guy is still active in the community, he probably wants to slap himself every day — if only he had gritted his teeth and continued mining back then!

The stories of early participants are always dramatic. Some left the market to cut losses over a few dollars in electricity costs, while others held on until now to achieve financial freedom. Over a longer period, perseverance itself may be the greatest Alpha.