Chapter 21: The Real Key Currency
Chapter 21: The Real Key Currency
How should I spend my time in San Francisco?
Happiness wasn't so far away.
“Start the game. Hurry up.”
“Alright.”
After assembling the computer, I started gaming with Oh Myeong-woo.
StarCraft, the most popular game back in our college days.
I never paid to play at a PC bang like others, but I did work part-time at one.
After my shift ended, or during night shifts over the break, I'd play games with Oh Myeong-woo.
“This is really fun.”
“Tell me about it.”
Playing it for the first time in a while brought back memories from five years ago, making it feel even more enjoyable.
In college, I couldn't afford to have fun because I was struggling to get by and worried about the future.
Now, I could play as much as I wanted without a care in the world.
“League? Is this one fun?”
“It's been the most popular game for years.”
“I've seen it streamed. It didn't seem like much when I was just watching.”
“You'll see once you play.”
We started playing League, which was popular these days.
At first, we played against the computer to learn the ropes, and it was fun.
The joy of five champions battling in their respective lanes, growing stronger, and making an impact across the whole game.
It even felt like playing an MMORPG, leveling up a character.
Oh Myeong-woo was impressed as he played.
“So this is why this game is so popular.”
“You didn't play much in the States?”
“My friends here like games. There were even people at work who played League. But I was too busy working.”
Oh Myeong-woo must have had a tough time adjusting to life in America for four years.
But that time wasn't wasted, as he'd gained experience, knowledge, and connections.
‘If it weren't for crypto... the gap between me and Oh Myeong-woo would have grown pretty wide.’
A friend, not a competitor.
Even though we were friends who went through hard times together, it would have been bitter to see a huge gap open up between us after entering the real world.
My gaming skills and Oh Myeong-woo's had been evenly matched since college.
“This champion is really good. Perfect for jungling.”
“Which one?”
“Master Yi.”
Oh Myeong-woo played Master Yi, while I mainly played Teemo and Nasus in the top lane.
After two days of playing against bots, we jumped into real matches.
We were playing against online users.
Since we were Korean, we deliberately connected to the Korean server, and our spirits were immediately crushed.
- Disgusting duo lololol
- Died again
- It was hopeless from champ select, for real.
- Why do you even exist? Go apologize for being born.
- You're orphans, right?
The enemy players were astonishingly good, and our teammates were busy mocking us.
I couldn't understand how the gaming culture had changed so much in just a few years, but even though it was infuriating, the game itself was fun.
“Let's try a different game.”
“Okay.”
This time, we played a survival shooter where only one out of 100 people dropped on a deserted island survives.
The tension and isolation born from the threat of death.
Running around to survive, shooting when you encounter an enemy.
Wounded, we struggled to survive, wrapping our bodies in bandages.
“This game is fun too.”
“Yeah, it is.”
I could see why it had become a globally popular game.
There are many FPS games that use guns, but their gameplay is mostly about hitting a lot of enemies.
The story of having to survive alone on the battlefield and the immersion it provided were differentiating factors.
At the same time, you could enjoy it casually without investing a lot of time, so it seemed like it would be easy for office workers to play too.
‘How much is the stock for the company that developed this game?’
One thing that changed after I became wealthy was that if I liked something, I became interested in it.
Not just the product, but the company's shares.
Owning some stock in a gaming company seemed like a good idea.
However, after looking into it, I found that it was unfortunately an unlisted stock, so it was difficult to buy as much as I wanted.
In the year since the game's release, its market capitalization had skyrocketed a whopping 20 times.
‘So there are a lot of companies whose stock prices shoot up in a short period.’
It felt like I was learning about a new world every day, one I never knew before.
Even after playing 10 times, it was hard to survive until I was the last one standing.
I'd die from a bullet that came from nowhere, or from an exploding grenade.
“I can't take it anymore. I need to take some time off.”
“But you have to go to work with Layla.”
“I'll have to postpone it for a few days. If it's something this important, she'll understand.”
“And if she doesn't?”
“If she can't understand gaming, we shouldn't be dating.”
Oh Myeong-woo said firmly.
From a divorced man's perspective, I wondered if being unable to marry like that was a blessing or a curse.
* * *
While I was in the US, the price of Ripple steadily dropped.
2,000 won.
1,900 won.
1,800 won.
1,700 won.
There was a huge difference between the international and Korean market prices.
It had peaked at 4,800 won in Korea and $3.29 internationally, and both were now falling together.
- Ripple probably won't rise for a while...
- It's been so volatile these past few days
- About to cut my losses on Ripple at -50%
- Why isn't Ripple coming to rescue us at 4,700?
- I'm on the 29th floor of Ripple, ugh, calling for a rescue team.
- State of the Ripple investors' group chat.JPG
- I don't know about the others, but anyone holding Ripple bags should cut their losses now.
- Looks like I'll have to pass my Ripple down to my son.
Fear was spreading like wildfire on the crypto forums.
‘So it can fall this far.’
I sold around the $3 mark, and now it's a third of that.
If I had held onto my Ripple until now, I would have lost around 400 million dollars.
‘My plan was to look into US stocks and stay away from crypto for a while, but with a drop this fast, I see an opportunity to make money.’
Greed and fear.
I believed that investment opportunities arose between them.
‘I don't know if this investment will succeed either. But...’
I decided to trust my own judgment and instincts, and prepared 300 million dollars to invest.
‘Let's do this.’
When Ripple's international price fell below $1, I started buying, bit by bit.
I kept buying up whatever sell orders appeared.
Honestly, I was prepared to lose it all.
If Ripple's value dropped to $0.50, I would lose nearly half my investment.
‘I can accept a loss of 150 million dollars. If that happens, I'll just stop worrying about crypto and buy stable US stocks.’
I could invest a little in startups and put the rest in large-cap US stocks.
Like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, or Google.
It was also a good idea to find stocks that were more reassuring than a bank, paid regular dividends, and were constantly trending upward.
I could live a luxurious life on the dividends alone.
‘It's a challenge worth taking.’
I was more at ease than I expected.
Come to think of it, I was much more anxious when I first held Bitcoin, or when Ripple was going up tenfold.
Because now, even if I incurred a loss, I could fully handle and accept it.
0.94
0.93
0.92
The price of Ripple kept falling.
My losses were mounting quickly, but I had become somewhat hardened to it.
0.91
0.90
If I hadn't had the experience of patiently waiting while Bitcoin and Ripple rose, I would have despaired at a loss of 18.9 million dollars.
I wasn't like this back when I was getting divorced.
The money I'd saved working part-time through high school and college.
The small villa I'd bought with money saved by putting away over 80% of my salary since I was a new employee.
Feeling like my whole life had been ruined, I threw the villa, which was in my name, at Han Chae-won.
Because that was the only way she'd agree to the divorce.
Compared to the despair of those days, this was nothing.
I really could hold on until it hit 0.5.
At 0.90, a massive volume of trades was executed.
I thought it would surely go lower.
0.91
0.92
Ripple began to rise, little by little.
Ripple hesitated for a moment between 0.91 and 0.92, then started to shoot up frighteningly fast.
0.93
0.94
0.95
Whether it was a technical rebound or something else.
In any case, the price of Ripple was rising.
The speed of its rise was even faster than its fall.
The bar on the chart shot straight up.
1.02
1.07
1.12
1.14
As buy orders flooded in, the ascent gained momentum.
The sell walls at each price point disappeared, and the bar shot upwards.
How could I even describe the euphoria of this moment?
I had come home from work and seen the price rise on my monitor before.
But this was like feeling that thrill all at once, in real time.
1.44
1.48
1.53
1.58
It was up 66%.
A profit of 198 million dollars.
The money didn't feel like money.
It was just a number, cybermoney.
What was certain was that in this moment, I was the king.
‘What if I had invested 500 million dollars instead of 300 million? Or 800 million?’
The seed of greed sprouted in my heart and grew rapidly.
In a situation where it seemed Ripple would rise endlessly and everyone would get greedier.
1.63
1.64
1.65
‘That's it. I've earned enough.’
At $1.65, I started to sell off my Ripple.
Just a few hours ago, I had 300 million dollars.
A 73% profit.
300 million dollars had become 519 million dollars.
* * *
I had invested a lot of money and even gotten a new house since coming to the US.
Oh Myeong-woo didn't say much, but he must have been curious about how much I was worth.
‘I've considered him a friend since college, and seeing him again, he's definitely a good guy.’
I was the kind of person who kept walls up.
So I didn't trust people easily, but I felt I needed to be somewhat honest with those I did trust.
It might have been different if I hadn't gotten Oh Myeong-woo's help with startup investments.
It would be strange to just say I made it all from crypto trading.
“Actually, I've made quite a lot of money from crypto.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. On the level of a few hundred million dollars.”
I had said it deliberately.
I even confessed that I'd been buying crypto and making money in my spare time since coming to the US.
“You crazy bastard, recklessly gambling such a huge amount of money on crypto.”
“I know. But it worked out, didn't it?”
“Crypto is a bubble. Bitcoin and Ripple can never replace the dollar.”
Just as I was thinking Oh Myeong-woo had a conservative economic view.
“Because the only true key currencies that hold their value over time are gold, the dollar, Rolexes, and Legos.”
“...”
College days.
Just like me, it wasn't for nothing that this guy had no friends.
* * *
Han Chae-won came to work in a brightly colored outfit.
“Good morning!”
She sat down at her desk in the support team.
“Welcome, Chae-won.”
“You're a little late.”
“Yes, the traffic was heavy.”
The other female employees had looked terrible for the past two weeks.
They had lost a significant amount of their savings in crypto. I heard there were countless employees whose investments had been cut in half.
‘Serves them right.’
Han Chae-won had also suffered losses.
Over 100 million won. She had even lost the money she borrowed from her younger sibling, so her losses were greater than the other female employees.
‘It's so satisfying to see those bitches who messed with me like this.’
Team Leader Choi So-hye and the other female employees were gathered in the break room, talking.
“I feel like I shouldn't have gotten into crypto. I knew it was risky, but I was greedy.”
“I know, Team Leader.”
“Na Sang-guk. If it wasn't for Assistant Manager Na, really...”
Dissatisfaction with Na Sang-guk was rampant among the female employees.
Han Chae-won said with a deep frown.
“What are you going to do? It was money you worked so hard to save. Your husband must be very worried.”
“Tell me about it. Phew. I have to make it back without my husband knowing, but how?”
Outwardly, she pretended to comfort them, but inwardly, she was gloating.
‘They dared to talk down to me. Look at them now.’
Everyone had lost money, but she had a reason to be happy.
‘He said he sold at the perfect time before the drop.’
Despite the bear market, Kim Shin hadn't lost anything.
What a relief. If they got back together, his assets would be as good as hers.