I get knocked down, but I get up again…
Meet Jack, a crypto enthusiast working at Messari Crypto, a renowned crypto data research provider. Jack's journey into crypto was influenced by his older brother and a desire to escape the disillusionment he felt in traditional banking.
In this Twitter Space, he shares his experiences, including working through the bear market, facing losses, practicing mindfulness, and dealing with the Euler hack.
He also discusses his role at Messari and emphasizes the importance of positive mindset and continuous learning in the crypto space.
You can listen to the full audio here.
Keep reading for the key takeaways 🍿👇️
🤝 Panel
Kadeem Clarke @Crypto_Clarke
Jack Purdy @jpurd17
✨ Introduction
Jack works at Messari Crypto, a crypto data research provider known as the Bloomberg of crypto.
They are currently working on DAO engagement and protocol services.
Jack has been at the company for four years, where he started as a research analyst in the bear market.
He was an eager banker tired of TradFi looking to break into crypto.
He says that he got influenced into crypto through his older brother and eventually led himself down the rabbit hole.
Jack experienced disillusionment in the traditional banking system and wanted a way out.
He says that learning about the financial system and the GFC conflicts of interest, where a lot of the profits were geared towards a select few motivated him to look elsewhere.
He explains that the use cases of crypto fascinated him.
🎧️ Jack talks about what he’s doing currently👇️
🐻 How was it working at Messari through the bear market?
Jack says it was great and the perfect place to be on the ground floor.
He spoke with many builders and investors with a comprehensive view of the space’s nuances.
Jack explains that now the space is more developed, which has allowed the space to be built up of niches.
🎧️ Jack’s experience of working at Messari through the bear market 👇️
📉 Any losses in the last bear market?
Jack explains how in the 2017 bull run, he rode his portfolio up and down 90%.
He says the extreme loss came from heavily leveraged positions.
Playing around on Bitmex, Jack longed for positions in 2018, intending to make it all back.
After being glued to prices and seeing no market volatility, Jack explains how he got liquidated 30% on holiday.
This made him lose all his assets, but he explains how it was also a learning curve.
The substantial monetary loss he felt got to him and pushed him to double down.
Jack sold his 401K, which he dropped into crypto. He says he doesn’t regret this but wishes he had taken a more mindful approach.
Having experienced a huge loss meant future losses were desensitized to him.
🎧️ Major learnings from losses in the last bear market 👇️
🧘♀️ What is a mindful practice?
Jack explains that his framework is thinking about not being attached to emotions.
He says that default reactions and having perspectives separate from his thoughts have allowed him to excel.
Furthermore, he says cultivating mindfulness allows you to execute more effectively and operate in a happier state.
🎧️ Jack unpacks what a “mindful approach” actually means 👇️
⚠️ On the Euler hack
Jack explains that over the past year, he was sitting in many stablecoins and preparing for the worst.
He mentions that he ended up putting a large chunk of his portfolio into Euler even though he knew there were risks in putting funds into a smart contract platform.
Jack further states he logged into Twitter one morning and was in disbelief.
He explains his story and how he experienced the complete worst-case scenario of despair.
Afterwards, Jack felt a sense of clear-headedness and the point of being caught up in regret in matters that are out of his control, which he felt was unnecessary.
Jack explains that from experience, he stopped keeping all his eggs in one basket.
He also states that regardless of a protocol being audited multiple times, investors must be mindful that hacks and scams are possible.
He says that journaling disasters and black swans that could happen is an excellent way to prepare yourself mentally.
🎧️ Jack talks about how the Euler hack impacted him 👇️
☮️ Working in the crypto space, how do you deal with problems?
Jack says that surrounding yourself with positive sum people plays a large part.
He explains that many in the space naturally tend towards decentralization and being well-motivated and driven people.
Furthermore, Jack says being less money motivated is a significant aspect of innovation in the space.
He uses examples of prior rugs stating that rather than thinking about how your bags will get nuked, circumstances like LUNA and FTX should be considered a necessary cleansing for future mass adoption.
🎧️ Dealing with loss of jobs in the crypto space 👇️
⚒️ What do you do at Messari?
Jack is a director of sales at Messari.
He explains how Messari provides these open-source DAO communities a positive service.
Jack says that much of his job is centered around outsourcing data analytics and improving investor relations with various projects.
He mentions how Messari’s team focuses on helping the build process for protocols.
Jack emphasizes that even though he was very finance focused after uni, he rejected multiple roles as a developer and was instead interested in consuming and learning information.
This aligns with what he does now regarding researching and bettering his knowledge of the space.
Jack says psychologically, having a positive stance on the space and taking lessons on board every time he experiences a setback is how he’s altered his mindset, especially after experiencing the Euler hack.
💭 Final thoughts
Jack says that industry and broader world-wise, companies have made substantial layoffs.
He explains that getting in contact with others and surrounding yourself with people in positive situations is a great perspective.