I put my entire savings into a coin that promised 300% returns in a week. It was called something ridiculous like "MoonDogeElon" or whatever. I didn't do research. I saw screenshots on Twitter. I saw my friends flexing. I FOMO'd hard. Within 48 hours of investing, the developers rugged the project. Telegram group deleted. Website down. My ₦3.5 million became ₦0.00. My mother thinks I gambled. My friends think I am stupid. But here is what they miss: I learned more about markets, risk management, and emotional discipline in that loss than I ever learned in my banking job. I am not defending fraud. I am defending the learning curve. Every Nigerian businessman I admire lost money before they made it. Crypto is not the enemy. Greed is. Ignorance is. The desire to get rich without working is. I am back in the market, but this time with 10% of my income, proper research, and long-term holds. I will make it back. Slowly. Legitimately. Have you ever lost big money to a bad investment? Did you quit, or did you learn?
