How can a newbie get into web3?

There are thousands of opportunities in the cryptocurrency world, but the first thing you should do is not to leave the table.

Whether it is trading, arbitrage, on-chain interaction, or ambushing airdrops, to be honest, Web3 is still in a period of high dividends. If you seriously learn some practical skills, the input-output ratio will be much higher than many industries .

However, the most common pitfall for many beginners—or even half-beginners—is the mindset of wanting to “make a big profit with a small investment.” They imagine that they can multiply their money overnight. As a result, they often end up either getting liquidated or wasting money on gas fees and handling charges.

The current Web3 is essentially a large-scale lottery experiment. Given enough time and enough trials, achieving success is not impossible. But the key premise is that you must avoid being kicked off the table. In other words, if you want to double your money, you must first learn how not to go back to zero.

So, for retail investors with small amounts of capital, how should they get started?

I recommend beginning with spot trading and on-chain trading. These options carry relatively controllable risks, allow you to set your own pace, and let you learn by doing. More specifically, I suggest following the “three on-chain steps”:

Open a CEX account and a wallet

For example, a CEX like Binance, and a wallet such as OKX Wallet or SafePal. Once you’ve stepped into Web3, you’ll need to purchase some BTC, ETH, or USDT. Whether it’s on a CEX or directly on-chain, it’s essential to experience the full cycle of deposit → purchase → withdrawal.

Don’t put in too much—just enough to practice: topping up and buying, withdrawing to your wallet, transferring funds across chains, and so on. Doing it yourself is far more effective than reading a hundred tutorials.

Doing it yourself is better than reading 100 tutorials.

Try more on-chain interactions

Swap tokens once, mint an NFT, register an ENS, or try a cross-chain transfer. These actions are how you truly participate in the on-chain ecosystem. They don’t just build awareness, they may also open the door to airdrop opportunities.

You don’t need to fully understand every detail right away. Even a single action will help you build a basic grasp of wallet permissions, signing transactions, gas fees, and more.

Experiences investors know well that these foundational understandings will later become the skills you need to master airdrops, DeFi, and on-chain arbitrage.

Build your own information flow

Today, many so-called KOLs on X focus mainly on exposure, posting repetitive promotional content about projects. This adds little value and clutters your feed.

Instead, focus on high-quality sources. Your evaluation criteria should be practical value. Follow reliable bloggers who have genuine hands-on experience and share high-density, actionable information. Also, keep track of reputable on-chain tool websites to expand your toolkit.

The following are some high-quality entry-level information sources that come to mind (I plan to write a detailed review later):

  1. Data websites

DeFiLlama — Highly recommended for beginners. It aggregates DeFi project rankings, TVL (total value locked), trading volumes, liquidation stats, and more. An essential resource for discovering on-chain trends and opportunities.

Information channels (news & research):

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Many people spend six months, a year, or even two years in this industry without ever finding the right path. Looking back, the root cause is always the same: their foundation wasn’t solid.

So rather than chasing “what’s the most profitable,” it’s far more important to first understand the basics:

Once you truly understand these fundamentals, opportunities will naturally reveal themselves.

Web3 is unlike other industries. In this space, “learning by doing” is the shortcut.

If you only read without practicing—collecting countless tutorials, following tons of bloggers but never actually getting started—that’s like practicing “deviant cultivation.

” No matter how much you read, you’ll get lost sooner or later.

As the saying goes:

Reading thousands of books is not as good as practicing N times. By practicing N times, you’ll eventually find your own rhythm.