Money Stories brings to you the good, the bad and the bougie from people who lead dramatic financial lives.
This week’s subject is a 32-year-old product designer who built his wealth from humble beginnings selling data bundles in university to making six figures (in dollars) from trading crypto. But a single compromised smart contract in 2022 wiped out $320K of his savings and shattered his financial plans.
Now, he’s rebuilding his portfolio, and chasing a $5M per annum income through diversified assets.
What’s your earliest memory of making money?
My financial journey began in 2013/14 when I started selling SME data bundles to students at my university. The thrill of turning a small investment into a profit got me hooked on the idea of multiplying money. I started with SME data bundle sales in university and continued through NYSC. During my NYSC, I stumbled upon MMM at a cyber cafe, which led me to explore other similar platforms. That’s how I discovered cryptocurrencies.
After experimenting with crypto on these platforms, I started stacking tokens, including early buys like BNB (Binance Coin) at $14-$27, which later surged to over $650 per token. The massive potential for gains excited me, so I went all in — educating myself, experimenting with various tokens like BTC, ETH, and BNB, and gradually scaling my investments. Today, crypto remains my main source of income, but I’ve diversified into other assets, including stocks.
From SME data bundles to Crypto, cool. What other assets have you ever put money in?
I’ve explored quite a range, including stocks, crypto, and NFTs. In crypto, I hold BTC, ETH, BNB, JUP, and some high-risk altcoins and meme coins. I also stake tokens like JUP for passive income and participate in yield farming. Outside of crypto, I’ve invested in stocks like Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia.
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How and why did you get into crypto trading?
I got into crypto out of curiosity and the potential for high returns—doing ten times or even a hundred times on my money was the biggest pull. Seeing Bitcoin’s explosive growth made me realize this was an opportunity I couldn’t ignore. I began by buying altcoins with great use cases and the potential to outperform Bitcoin in gains.
What was your initial approach to investing in crypto?
I was cautious but strategic. I started with Bitcoin and Ethereum for their stability, then allocated a smaller portion of my earnings to altcoins with good utility after studying their market potential.
Tell me a story about your most successful crypto investment
I’ve had a few big wins, but the most memorable was buying over 1,000 BNB tokens when the price was around $27. I invested early because it was tied to a real product and chain. The price skyrocketed to over $500, and I sold some for profit.
Any huge losses too?
My biggest loss was during the NFTs and Metaverse season. I moved over $400k to my MetaMask wallet to buy and mint NFTs. Unfortunately, I interacted with a compromised smart contract from an NFT project server, wiping out over $320k from my wallet. It was tough — I kept waking up, hoping it was just a bad dream.
I’m trying to imagine losing that amount of money. How did you feel? Did you tell any friends or family?
Brutal doesn’t even begin to describe it. Seeing my MetaMask wallet wiped out because of a compromised Discord server was a nightmare. At first, I was in complete denial — I kept thinking if I just slept and woke up, my balance would magically reappear. I did that for over four days, lol.
Then came frustration. I kept asking myself, why didn’t I just stick with the crypto investments that had been working for me? Why didn’t I use that money to buy property or a second passport? I didn’t tell anyone immediately because I didn’t want to hear comments that would upset me. I eventually told my brother and best friend after about a month. Other people only found out a year later — by then, I could laugh about it, lol.
Were there any warning signs or red flags before the crypto loss?
Yes, there were. The biggest red flag was that the same announcement with the same link kept being reposted. Normally, a server posts announcements once, not multiple times. I should have taken that as a warning.
But FOMO got the best of me — I wanted to mint early, so I rushed in without cross-checking the link or seeing what others were saying about it.
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Looking back, what would you have done differently?
I would have stuck to what had been working for me—investing and staking in crypto. Chasing every new opportunity without fully understanding the risks was a mistake. Now, I’m way more cautious.
What do you think the next few years might look like for you money-wise?
I’m optimistic. I’m diversifying my investments and planning to build one or two products in the Web3 space — one is already in progress. My goal is to achieve financial freedom with a well-balanced, multi-asset portfolio.
Right now, what income figure or range would make you financially happier?
Somewhere between $5 million to $20 million, lol.
This week’s Money Stories subject is on a mission to reach a minimum of $5M in annual income—and this time, he’s playing it smarter. By diversifying into high-value strategic assets, he’s taking a calculated approach to wealth-building. Moni is empowering people like him to grow and protect their wealth, plan for retirement, and invest wisely. If you’re serious about building wealth and creating a strong, diversified portfolio, Moni’s free wealth management sessions will equip you with the insights to make informed investment decisions and grow your money with confidence. Book your free session here.
