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Quick backstory: So I went to boarding school and finished high school based out of Toronto. My financial career technically started freshman year of HS… buying Bitcoin before exchanges existed.
I’d buy prepaid Vanilla cards, mail them to some guy in the UK, and he’d send me P2P BTC keys. I feel ancient typing this. My only goal was to buy weed for my friends. I also (regrettably) stole my dad’s credit card to buy those Vanilla cards from every corner store in town.
At my peak sophomore year of HS, I held roughly 12,000 BTC. About $65k in CC transactions total. Then I did what every dumb teenager with Silk Road access would do and either got scammed or burned through 10,000+ BTC on drugs over the rest of high school. Cool.
Fast-forward to college: BTC hits $10k. I pay off student loans, buy a nice Mercedes but didn’t want something crazy since I’m a new hire, and pay my parents back. After graduating, I land a stable job in Dallas and have worked at JPM for 7+ years as an AIA. Current comp is about $235K+ including the bonus/benefits. I live below my means and try not to touch principal.
Post-COVID, like every other idiot, I discovered options.
Before the TDA merger, I rolled about $800k of crypto gains into equities. Since 2020, that snowballed from $1M into $10M+.
Rough Breakdown of wins:
\- NVIDIA stock + options: $3M+
\- Oil & Gas (2022): $2M+
\- AI hype trade of MAGs (yes, I think it’s a bubble professionally): $2M+
\-Gold & Silver: $3M+
But don’t get it twisted, I’ve been wrecked too:
\- 1M+ lost on Google calls (too early, pre-AI, DOJ era)
\- $500k+ lost on Tesla puts
So no, this wasn’t a straight line up.
All in, between crypto + equities, I’m staring at a decision point. If I liquidate everything, I’m looking at $31–35M. Considering crypto holds stable when I sell.
Here’s the problem:
I believe “cash is trash,” but this market has felt way too easy. Everything I’ve ever learned says this isn’t normal. My job is secure, but my health’s taken a hit from long hours, and I’m honestly burned out.
I’ve been offered a role at a smaller firm:
\- $150K comp
\- (almost)Fully remote
\- Fewer hours
\- Travel + gym friendly
JPM would keep me closer to $250K+, but with more grind.
I’m thinking about selling out, focusing on myself, traveling, getting back in shape, and waiting patiently for a real 5-10-20 year reset. I also want to start dating seriously, find a nice girl, build a family, maybe buy a new home and actually enjoy life instead of staring at charts at 4am.
I know this is WSB. This post is less “what stonk next” and more “clear my head before I do something dumb.” Feels like a midlife crisis at 30. Lmao.
I already know not many women are interested in an overweight Korean man, so I’ll need to get into shape if I want a chance to find a date. Seems like almost everyone, my friends included, is so health conscious since Covid and I’ve just been a nerd working. Good for yall, I’m late to the health train.
Questions:
1. If you were me, would you sell it all, partially de-risk, or let it ride?
2. Keep JPM at \~$250K+ or take the $155k remote gig for lifestyle?
3. Anyone else hit the “I won the game but don’t feel done” wall?
TL;DR:
Made $30M+ by 30. Don’t trust the market. Don’t trust myself. Do I cash out and touch grass, or keep riding this unhinged bull run?
Typing this out before I go into work. Can’t believe they made us drive in over the ice in this fucking storm. Fuck JPM.
Good luck to all you degens, bull or bear.