📉 From Pixel Vault to Perspective: Lessons From the NFT Frontier

By CD

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📉 I know that I’ve told you all that I’ve permanently moved all new content to https://indignified.substack.com - and that is true, but this is an exception. The reason is that this post sort of wraps up my crypto/NFT journey as it was shared here on the Vagobond Substack and through Vagobond Magazine. There will be one additional post here - a video wrap-up of my year in Satoshi Manor, the house I bought in Japan with money made from buying and selling Bitcoin. That will close out the Vagobond section of my life. Thank you for reading. If you are a subscriber, please make sure to go subscribe to

https://indignified.substack.com

~CD

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So it looks like Pixel Vault is finally wrapping up what may be the longest, slowest rug in NFT history.

For those who weren’t there, this was a project that had everything going for it—momentum, talent, a loyal community, media partnerships. But it turns out, those things aren’t enough without leadership, transparency, and loyalty in return.

The Pixel Vault implosion feels like an emblem of the broader NFT story. Looking through my Discord list feels a lot like opening up my MetaMask or checking OpenSea: a graveyard of what once was, full of potential and nostalgia, now mostly dust.

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My Bags (2025 Edition)

These days, my crypto bags are fairly light—less than half a BTC in total, all in. That’s a wild contrast to the peak mania years when my portfolio soared with the insane valuations of NFT summer.

Here’s where I stand now:

• 30% BTC

• 10% ETH / SOL / AVAX

• 5% LTC / USDC

• The rest? A scatter of tokens and NFTs: MAYC, Meebit, Mfer, Cool Cat, Rektguy… and a handful of coins: IP, REKT, PENGU, ATOM, L1.

Many of the NFTs I own are now impossible to sell. Many of the tokens are worth pennies. But like most true believers, I still hold them. Maybe out of hope. Maybe because selling them would make the loss too real. It’s like having tulip bulbs after the bubble burst—except these bulbs lived on the blockchain and once paid my rent.

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8 Crypto & NFT Rules I Learned (The Hard Way)

Here’s the distilled wisdom from a half-decade in the trenches:

1. Expect to lose what you invest – and don’t invest more than you can stomach losing.

2. Get in early and free if possible. When prices spike? Sell. Most projects never hit those highs again.

3. Buy back in after the crash—but only if you really believe.

4. Take profits regularly. Always. Small wins are better than paper gains.

5. If you hit “life-changing money,” walk away. Sell. Don’t look back.

6. Don’t take advice from someone you wouldn’t trust with $20.

7. Don’t fall for hype. “Ex-Disney,” “Pixar animator,” “Marvel exec”—these names are easy to slap on pitch decks.

8. It really is about the people. The ‘friends we made along the way’ cliché? Turns out it’s real.

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Pixel Vault, Lamina1, and the Cycle of Belief

Pixel Vault wasn’t just another project to me. I believed in it—deeply. It had real promise. I held even as it bled out slowly over years. I convinced myself it would bounce back.

It didn’t.

Same story seems to have played out with Doctor Who: Worlds Apart and might be unfolding with Lamina1. It’s too early to say for certain but the telltales seem to be there.Thankfully, my exposure there was limited—about $1,500 total. I cashed out $500 when I could, so I’m down ~$1,000. Do I still believe it could come back? Yeah, a little. Hope springs eternal.

But belief without action is how I lost more than a BTC in opportunity by not rotating into Bitcoin when I had the chance.

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Was It Worth It?

Yes. 100%.

Despite the bags full of illiquid JPEGs and vapor tokens, blockchain changed my life.

It paid for a home in Japan, funded my travels around the world, helped cover living expenses for years. I took real money off the table. I got to see the world. I met lifelong friends—many of whom came from projects like:

• Doctor Who: Worlds Apart

• Pixel Vault

• PageDAO

• Lamina1

• Rektguy

• OnChainMonkey

So yeah, it hurts to look at the wreckage. But I’m not bitter. I’m just wiser.

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The Final Lesson

In 2017, I bought at the top. In 2020, the $30k I had borrowed was worth $3k. I didn’t sell. I stuck around. I bought bits and pieces when I could. I almost traded it all for a junked sailboat.

But I didn’t.

Then came DeFi Summer, NFT Mania, and BTC’s return to glory. That original bag would be worth half a million dollars today.

So while I’ve swept most of the table clean… I’m not leaving.

I'm still here. Watching. Learning. Waiting.

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👉 Thanks for reading. If you found this useful, share it with someone who still believes. Or someone who needs to be reminded it's okay to lose—so long as you learn.

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