So yeah...
Let’s talk about the first time I got rugged.

I wasn’t even deep into crypto yet — just vibing on Twitter, reading memes, joining random Telegram groups, chasing that first “10x moment” everyone posts screenshots of.

Then it happened.
A brand-new token. Meme coin vibes.
Telegram was wild — hundreds of messages a minute.
Mods were calling for “diamond hands,” and people were aping in with big bags.

The website looked clean.
The dev was “doxxed” (turns out, fake).
People kept yelling,
“This is the next $DOGE!”

I was hyped.
FOMO took over.
I threw in a small bag — $37 worth.

That’s when I learned the first real lesson of crypto:

💸 I Only Lost $37… But It Hit Different

You know when you mess up, and it’s not about the money — it’s about the feeling?

That was it.

I kept refreshing the chart like every 10 minutes.
It pumped a little... then dipped... then pumped again.

And suddenly, within 2 days, the Telegram group went silent.
Website? Down.
The contract? Locked. Liquidity pulled.
Everyone vanished.

That pit in my stomach? Brutal.

Not because I lost $37 — honestly, I’ve spent more on snacks during late-night cravings.

But because I felt stupid, played, and embarrassed.
I kept thinking, “Why did I fall for this?”
And more importantly: “Is this what Web3 really is?”

😤 That Feeling? It Almost Made Me Quit

That first rug hit me harder than it should’ve.
I actually considered leaving the space completely.

It’s funny now, but back then, I really thought maybe this space wasn’t for me.
I didn’t come from finance or tech. I didn’t know code.
I just wanted to explore Web3 and maybe make something cool (or a little money).

And there I was — just got scammed by strangers on the internet.

But the weird part?
I still couldn’t look away.
Even in that moment of doubt, I was like,
“Wait… there’s something here. There’s too much energy for this to be all fake.”

So I stayed. Quietly. Watching.
And I started learning.

🧠 That Rug Actually Taught Me A Lot

Looking back, that rug was lowkey the best thing that happened to me in crypto.

Here’s what it taught me:

• If it feels urgent, that’s the trap.
  Real projects don’t beg you to “buy now.” That panic-buy pressure? 🚩 Red flag.

• DYOR isn’t optional.
  Everyone says “Do Your Own Research,” but most don’t.
  I learned to dig: read the contract, Google the dev, check GitHub, find red flags.

• No humans = No trust.
  If there’s no real person behind a project — no voice, no face, no accountability — I’m out.

• Community vibes matter.
  If the chat feels botted, if mods only say “HOLD,” or if everyone’s just spamming gifs — bounce.

🔁 Looking Back Now…

That $37 rug? It paid off in knowledge.

I started following builders. Reading threads. Watching how real communities grow.
I stopped aping into everything and focused on why people believed in certain tokens or ideas.

I learned to ask better questions:

• What’s the long-term vision here?

• Who’s building it?

• What does this project solve — if anything?

And the biggest shift?

I stopped looking at crypto as lottery tickets...
...and started seeing it as a space full of stories — some amazing, some painful — but all real.

So yeah, my first real experience in Web3 was getting rugged.
But I didn’t leave.

That was just my entry point.
One chapter in the chain.

There’s more to come.

— RafiOnChain