“Shoeshine boy and investor”
Image extraction: stable diffusion

The story of “The Shoe Shine Boy,” created in 1929, which tells how even a shoe shine boy with no knowledge or funds for stocks began to talk about investing, and when he did, the market hit its peak. Around me, a very similar situation occurred around mid-2021 to early 2022 with regards to cryptocurrency.

In short, friends and relatives who had never talked about investing before began discussing crypto-related topics around the same time. They recommended coins such as Decentraland (MANA) and Solana (recommended by an Italian and French person, respectively). Soon after, both coins plummeted in value by about 50% within a week. Those who had invested in them probably now hate looking at charts, and some have even said so.

I can’t help but think about the relationship between the depth and reach of information dissemination and the market. It’s a very common feeling, but I have no right to say anything as I myself got caught up in the hype and invested a small amount. I even added more to my investment when I thought they had hit rock bottom, which is what’s known as averaging down. However, even as of March 2023, the value of these coins hasn’t improved.

As someone who primarily trades based on chart patterns, I should probably cut these kinds of stories short, as they are just one example. However, it was personally interesting for me to witness the anecdote come true, and I wanted to write it down as a lesson for the future.