I Have 300,000 Ethereum Tokens That Are Worth $0

Maybe I should have paid attention

In 2017, I received 300,000 ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum network. They should be worth millions, right? Nope, they’re worth $0. Little did I know back then that I was paid hoping those tokens would be worth something today.

I was approached by a business associate from a previous endeavor to join a startup that could use some UI/UX help with their web application. He inquired if there was any interest in supporting full time and indicated it would be 100% remote work. It was tempting, since the idea of working from home appealed to me, but the lack of job security gave cause for hesitation. We alternatively agreed that I would assist on an as-needed basis.

The work was fairly straightforward, as I would provide feedback on their website layouts. Occasionally I would even help code or debug trickier scenarios. The app had serious potential and the company behind it had staying power. They were well funded, or so it seemed, and even had celebrity backing — to remain unnamed.

The startup had plans to create an ERC-20 token — I did not know there was more than one type — to be used within the website as a type of reward and form of payment. I never saw the inner workings of how this would be accomplished. When the associate described it to me my eyes would glaze over when terms like cryptocurrency, blockchain, and tokens were mentioned. All I heard was Ethereum.

As the app came closer to fruition and their crypto token was registered, the associate brought up the topic of payment for my contributions thus far.

He gave me the option of either receiving cash or payment in their version of digital currency.

By this time, I had already worked a couple of startups for US dollars and was willing to take a chance on the upside of this mysterious Ethereum.

I went through setting up a Ledger hardware wallet as it came recommended for having better security. After following the steps to retrieve a wallet address, it only took a few minutes to receive the tokens. The quantity satisfied me and I didn’t even notice the 3-letter acronym for the token.

As I awaited news of the app’s release, the associate would ping me every so often with progress updates. I saw a few prototypes and everything looked well done and professional. After a longer time had passed without an update, I got word that the app wasn’t going to happen. I never asked for the full details as to why but it sounded like they ran into funding issues.

As years passed, I never looked back or considered getting involved with cryptocurrency again. I had little interest in the first place. With the current craze of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins I couldn’t help but be a bit curious. It was all my coworkers could talk about. I downloaded some popular crypto trading apps — Coinbase, Robinhood, Crypto.com, and SoFi —and discovered that all of them handled coin purchases differently, had varying fees, and each had its own subset of coins that they supported. It was overwhelming.

After reading several articles about cryptocurrency, some of which I found on Medium, I started investing in the trending coins.

It appeared I had gained interest at an opportune time given the latest market crash. The time to buy low was now.

About a week had passed when it dawned on me that I already owned a crypto wallet — the one from the failed startup. I rummaged through my drawers to find it and hooked it up to my laptop. After a couple of firmware updates, I was able to access it and found that I still owned the 300,000 tokens. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. When I saw their value of $0 and the 3-letter acronym that matched the company name, the sad realization sunk in that if the company was gone, any potential value went with it.

Conclusion

In hindsight, I should have taken the cash. If I had any sense, I would have used the money to invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum itself—a shared thought by many I’m sure. Regrettably, I was oblivious when it came to cryptocurrency and should have done my research. If you’re adamant about entering this wildly unpredictable world of digital currency as I am now, please educate yourself before putting your trust — and money — in tokens that may cease to have value or any to begin with.