Hello lovelies,

After I told you in my last post how I put the stock market on hold at the age of 14 for gaming, I had a tough start to my adult life: From the "toast diet" at the end of the month to the debt trap, my path was anything but straightforward - you are welcome to read the details in the first post.

Today I would like to continue with part 2 of my story: How I managed to get my act together and break out of the debt trap and then there's the 2nd Weekly Update on the Portfolio Experiment.

Part 2: Debt, shame and a pandemic - The hard road to a fresh start

What was the situation back then? In addition to a loan of around €8,000, I was increasingly in debt to my family. I regularly had to ask for money, which was a constant source of shame for me. This vicious circle went on for months and years - until Corona came along. It was a terrible time for many people, but ironically, it was to free me from my downward spiral.

The pandemic not only affected my health, but also the economy. My employer at the time decided to cut benefits to keep the business running. My financial situation was already bad - and now more was going to be taken away from me? That was the moment when I knew I had to get out. I couldn't just put up with it any more.

With a lot of luck and persistence, I managed to get a job interview with a large corporation. I managed to convince my boss at the time. At the age of 25, I started as a career changer in field sales - by far the youngest in the entire sales team, but determined to make the most of this opportunity.

The new job opened the door to finally being able to breathe again financially. In the next part, I'll tell you how I managed not only to become debt-free but also to find my way onto the stock market.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Now we come to the portfolio update, from now on I'll let Gemini take over the pen again:

The "high-risk/high-reward" experiment is showing its dark side today. After the high two weeks ago, reality has caught up with us: We took full risk on one position ("earnings gamble") and were punished for it by the market. But discipline also means correcting mistakes immediately.

📊 The hard facts (performance)
Status: A bitter setback. The gains of the first few weeks were partially eroded by two missteps. Top performer: 🏆 Rocket Lab (still our anchor). Problem children: SoFi & Solana (total failures over the weekend). Consequence: We realize the losses immediately to free up capital for new opportunities.

📅 What has happened since the last update?

1. the failed gamble at $SOFI (-2.05%)
(-17 %) 🎲

We made a conscious decision to take full advantage of Friday's earnings. The result: Despite strong numbers ("Revenue +39%"), the market played "Sell the News". Lesson: Hope is not a strategy. We accept that the bet was lost and will sell consistently tomorrow morning to save the remaining capital.

2nd crypto crash at $SOL (+1.02%)
(-27 %) 📉

Sunday pushed our crypto investment under water. Important support zones were pulverized today (currently ~ €85). Decision: Pull the ripcord. We're not sitting out bear markets, we're getting out while there's still cash.

3. the stable core $PLTR (-0.69%)
, $RKLB (-1.85%) , $IONQ (-1.47%) ⚓

While our problem children bleed, the core of the depot holds firm. Rocket Lab corrects healthily after the run, but remains well above the entry point. Palantir & IonQ show relative strength in the tech sell-off. We remain fully invested here ("Let the winners run").

🛡️ Strategic adjustments (Offense: Hunter mode)

We don't lick wounds, we rotate. So that the 5-share rule is adhered to, the cash released from SoFi and Solana will immediately flow into two new sectors with less "event risk" tomorrow morning:

• NEW: Western Digital $WDC (-1.42%)
  - AI Storage 💾
• Why: The numbers are already out (top!), the risk of negative surprises is gone. We are not buying a bet here, but confirmed growth in the AI storage market as a replacement for SoFi.

• NEW: Vistra Corp $VST (-0.75%)
  - AI Power ⚡
• Why: AI needs power. Vistra is a leading supplier for US data centers. Analysts see massive upside here, and we are adding infrastructure to our portfolio as a replacement for Solana.

🔮 Conclusion

The portfolio has taken a hit to the liver, but is still standing. We have sorted out the rotten eggs (SoFi, Solana) and are starting the week with a breath of fresh air. The new line-up: Palantir | Rocket Lab | IonQ | Western Digital | Vistra.

Thanks for reading - next time, hopefully with green signs again! 🐂

Would you make additional purchases now?

$BTC (+0.46%)
$ETH (-1.49%)
$SOL (+1.02%)
$XRP (+1.42%)

$BTC (+0.46%)
#bitcoin is an indispensable store of value for any crypto portfolio, but at the same time offers a growth component that other typical stores of value do not. In my view, a crypto portfolio should therefore be built around Bitcoin. Institutional adoption via ETFs and allocations to corporate treasuries is an important narrative, but in reality we are still very early in some segments of the market. While there is some saturation in digital asset tokens, there is significant potential for additional inflows as more allocators develop a better understanding of the asset class - such as more conservative investment committees or even governments.

$ETH (-1.49%)

#ethereum remains the leading smart contract platform in terms of total value locked (TVL) and developer activity. The Layer 2 ecosystem, including Arbitrum, Optimism and Base, continues to scale the network and bring in new users. Most importantly, Ethereum is well positioned to benefit from the growth of stablecoins and tokenization infrastructures. Regulatory advances through legislation such as the GENIUS Act could significantly accelerate this trend. Scott Bessent expects stablecoins to be worth three trillion by 2030, and we believe Ethereum is well positioned to absorb a significant share of this.

$SOL (+1.02%)

#solana Ethereum follows a similar value proposition to Ethereum, but offers high throughput rates and low fees. Owning both assets therefore allows for broad coverage of the smart contract segment. Tokenized equities are likely to become more established on Solana and with spot ETFs now available, significant capital inflows could follow in 2026. ETH and SOL are generally well covered in the smart contract platform market, and with prices largely depressed, they offer attractive entry points without the speculative overheating of past highs.

Which crypto assets are you betting on this year?

$BITC (-7.48%)
$CETH (-15.18%)
$SLNC (-12.02%)

Digital asset products saw the largest outflows since mid-November 2025, totaling USD 1.73 billion, reflecting a similar bearish sentiment typically seen in market downturns. Diminishing expectations of interest rate cuts, negative price momentum and disappointment that digital assets have not yet participated in the "debasement trade" movement are likely to have further fueled these outflows.

$BTC (+0.46%) The market recorded outflows of USD 1.09 billion, the largest since mid-November 2025, while there were small inflows into short Bitcoin products totaling USD 0.5 million. Overall, however, it is clear that sentiment has not yet improved since the price collapse on October 10, 2025.

$ETH (-1.49%) and $XRP (+1.42%) recorded outflows of USD 630 million and USD 18.2 million respectively, which shows that the negative sentiment was broad-based. $SOL (+1.02%) The fund "The World" bucked this trend and saw inflows of USD 17.1 million. Other assets saw smaller inflows, particularly Binance (USD 4.6 million) and Chainlink (USD 3.8 million).

$SLNC (-12.02%)

I had actually decided not to increase my crypto holdings (apart from $BTC (+0.46%) ) not to expand any further.

But when I saw the $SOL (+1.02%) price today, I simply had to striketo lower my buy-in a little again. 🚀

How are you positioning yourselves at the moment?

Hello everyone!

Today there are not only fresh figures for the Experiments depotbut I also wanted to take the opportunity to briefly introduce myself. The trigger for this is a real milestone: my entire trade portfolio exceeded the 30.000 € for the first time!

The portfolio does not reflect my overall portfolio, but it is by far the most important one for me and in the course of the story we will find out why.

You must never forget where you come from and that such figures cannot be taken for granted, which is why I would like to share my journey.

Part 1: My personal financial rollercoaster

Briefly about me: I'm now 30 years old, a husband and dad to a wonderful son - more on that later. My very first contact with the stock market was at school. Back then, we were allowed to take part in Commerzbank's stock market game as part of our economics course. It was great fun, but you may know what it was like: at the age of 14, gambling on the PC was more important to me than share prices. I lost focus and closed the "stock market" chapter for the time being.

The tough start to adult life After leaving school, I trained as a wholesale and foreign trade clerk. I left home in the first year of my apprenticeship and learned how to handle money in a painful and lengthy process. How are you supposed to know if you're never really shown how?

It took a good 8 years, during which it was not uncommon for me to sit at my desk in my apartment at the end of the month with toast, salami and tap water.

During this time, my overdrawn account regularly "smiled" at me. Then I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life, which led me deep into debt: I discovered the Sparkassen-Card Plus. With it, you could easily overdraw your account by up to €2,500. It took less than two years before I had to pay back this €2,500 with my first loan. Another two or three years later, I had to pay off this loan with another loan because the card had reached € -2,500 again in the meantime.

Part 2 of my story - "The painful way out of debt" - will follow in the next update.

___________________________________________________________________________________

The portfolio update

Now comes the 2-week summary of the current experiment. Who better to write it than the AI itself? That's why I'm handing over the pen to GEMINI:

🚀 2-week summary: "Hunter" depot update (January 2026)

The "High-Risk / High-Reward" experiment has now been running for two weeks. Despite high volatility and nervous markets, our aggressive strategy has paid off. We have not traded wildly back and forth, but have let winners run and tightened stops in a disciplined manner.

📊 The hard facts (performance)

• Initial investment in this experiment: Approx. €1,000
• Status: The portfolio is solidly in the plus (approx. +5,5% total return in 14 days).
• Top performers: 🏆 Rocket Lab & Solana (both up double digits).
• Problem child: SoFi (struggling, but has found the bottom).

📅 What happened in the 2 weeks?

1. the $RKLB (-1.85%)
Thriller 🎢 That was the wildest ride. First the rise to all-time highs, then the shock of the KeyBanc downgrade yesterday. We didn't sell, but proved our "diamond hands".

• Reward: Today (16.01.) the massive upgrade from Morgan Stanley (target 105 $).
• Strategy: We aggressively set the stop loss at 65,00 € to lock in profits ("house money").

2nd crypto spring at $SOL (+1.02%)
☀️ Solana benefited from the Bitcoin run above $90,000. We fully rode the breakout from € 117 to over € 133.

• Status: Currently healthy consolidation at ~€123. We are sitting on a thick cushion of over 50 %.

3. $PLTR (-0.69%)
& $IONQ (-1.47%)
: The AI machines 🤖 Palantir was often pronounced dead ("too expensive"), but received decisive "buy" ratings (Citi) and is holding steady above € 160. IonQ benefited from the hype surrounding quantum computers for 2026 and new government appointments (Katie Arrington).

4. the "Hunter" dilemma ($SOFI (-2.05%)
) 🔫 SoFi was our weakest value. The scanner suggested several times to swap to Western Digital or Nvidia.

• Decision:
  HOLD. We decided against "overtrading" as the transaction costs would have eaten up the benefit and SoFi successfully defended the critical €21 mark.

🛡️ Strategic adjustments

• Stop-loss management: Changed from "wide" to "tight". Rocket Lab is now hedged at €65.
• Hunter mode: We scan for alternatives on a daily basis, but remain disciplined. No blind actionism.

🔮 Conclusion The portfolio passed the "stress test" of the first half of January. The bet on space (RKLB), AI (PLTR/IONQ) and crypto (SOL) is currently clearly outperforming the broad market.

Next step: We continue to chase maximum return, but the defense is in place.

Thanks for reading and we'll see you in about 2-4 weeks with the next update and the 2nd part of the story!

$SOL (+1.02%)

Foreword:

hello getquinners,

I researched everything myself in the whitepaper, on Solana's site and wrote it myself (no Ki Slop)

so there will be spelling and grammar mistakes in here (don't be mad at me)

I only did the "risks" section with AI, because it would be exhausting to work through and think about.

Solana:

Solana is a powerful network that enables fast, secure and low-cost digital transactions. It supports thousands of applications, from payments and gaming to digital art and financial services.

Like Ethereum, Solana uses smart contracts, or the Solana network: Programs

What programs are there?

Send money globally:

While traditional country and continent-wide bank transfers take days, Solana transactions are completed in less than a second and with only typically $0.00025 in transaction costs, or a quarter of a thousandth of a dollar.

Memecoins and prediction markets:

everyone knows it by now, PUMP.fun for memecoins or Polymarket competitor Kalshi to really make a bet on everything.

Solana places bets with PUMP.fun and Kalshi the technical infrastructure ready: High TPS blockchain, programs, wallets and DEX integration - without Solana, there would be no scalable basis for these booms.

NFTs:

Digital certificates on a blockchain that uniquely assign a unique digital asset to an owner and prove its authenticity.

Forgery-proof proof of ownership for digital items such as art, music, tickets, in-game items. Less fraud, better tracking, additional features such as access to events or communities and proof of identity/documents.

Stablecoins:

Stablecoins are digital currencies whose value is tied to a stable asset, usually a fiat currency such as the US dollar or the euro. This is intended to reduce price fluctuations, as with other cryptocurrencies, in order to make them more usable as a means of payment or store of value.

Tokenomics:

SOL:

SOL, the native currency of Solana, is used as the "fuel" of the Solana blockchain. The token is responsible for paying the fees for each transaction and each dApp interaction in SOL.

Staking: 2 different mechanisms

Proof of Stake:
POS

Proof of Stake is a consensus mechanismin which it is not computing power but the use of coins that decides who is allowed to create new blocks and confirm transactions. Participants lock their own coins in the network (staking) and thus become validators.

Validators who are selected check transactions, build a block from them and receive rewards in the form of SOL.

Proof of History: POH

generates a verifiable, cryptographic time/sequence trace so that the network knows in which order transactions happened. You can think of PoH as an accelerator: It's not a full consensus on its own, but makes PoS consensus extremely fast and efficient, enabling Solana's high performance.

How exactly this works technically is complicated to describe. If you are interested, I recommend the following video: "How Proof of History Works on Solana"

Max Supply:

Solana has no maximum number of tokens in circulation, but SOL is burned after each transaction.

Sol is given out to validators as a reward for keeping the network secure. Solana started with an inflation of 8% pa, which decreases 15% every year. In 2025 it was an inflation of: 4%

Locked tokens as of 14.01.2026:

Around 430 million SOL are locked in staking, which roughly corresponds to just under 68% of the circulating supply, the remaining 32% are lying around freely on exchanges, wallets or DeFi applications

Partnerships:

Solana has partnerships with: Visa, Paypal, Fiserv, Circle, Worldpay, Western union, Blackrock and many more.

Roadmap: what's next?

Solana's roadmap for 2026 focuses on scaling, latency reduction and institutional adoption through upgrades such as Firedancer, Alpenglow and expanded block capacity. Similar to Ethereum's post, explaining these projects is beyond the scope of this post (unless you really want to read this in the next one, if so let me know)

The important thing is that Solana continues to develop in the direction of security and scalability.

Price and market risks

SOL is extremely volatile; massive price drops due to macro events, memecoin hype cycles or crypto crashes are possible on a daily basis.

High crypto beta amplifies losses during Bitcoin declines; speculative bubbles (e.g. pump-and-dumps) can trigger 70-90% corrections.

Regulatory risks

Unclear securities classification and stricter crypto regulations could make DeFi, staking or NFT trading on Solana more difficult or more expensive.

National regulations (e.g. MiCA in the EU, SEC on stablecoins) hit Solana's DEX and yield farming ecosystem hard; CEX delistings for violations are conceivable.

Technical & protocol risks

Frequent network outages (over 10 major halts 2021-2025) and upgrades such as Firedancer/Alpenglow pose bug or halt risks with loss of trust.

Smart contract exploits (often with Rust code), bridge hacks or PoH/PoS edge cases could trigger billions in losses and chain halts; high validator costs increase attack vectors.

Centralization & staking risks

High hardware requirements (~6,000 USD per validator) and ~50-70 validators with >33% stake enable 51% attacks or censorship by a few actors.

Concentration of top validators (Jito, Phantom) creates governance and coordination risks; failure of a large validator can trigger congestion.

Competition and network effect risks

Modular L1/L2s such as Ethereum L2s, Sui or Hyperliquid drain DeFi/liquidity if Solana's monolith design fails to scale.

Lack of network effect against ETH (TVL, devs) makes SOL vulnerable; fees, security and relevance of the ecosystem drop rapidly in case of migration.

As with Ethereum, Solana is a strong player in the stablecoin sector, but the biggest growth driver is the gambling market with Kalshi or PUMP.fun (unfortunately) it is growing very strongly, generating billions in liquidity. This trend does not look like it will end, but rather gain even more momentum, especially if traditional betting providers such as Draftkings $DKNG (-1.08%) and co. should also build on this.

That's why I took advantage of the dip and bought a little bit of SOL some time ago.

I thank everyone who has read this, if the response is good, I will make the effort and work out the same for another cryptocurrency for you, it was really fun!

Feel free to give feedback, also the other creators, what I could do better!

Below a securities account - the active piggy bank as a mixture of growth and value/dividend.

I would like to open a "High Risk High Reward division" with another broker (or in a subgroup at Scalable). No crazy gambles, but possibly companies that are in their infancy, have strong price swings or initially trade mainly with a vision of the future. Possibly also with a bet on a turnaround. Not completely unfamiliar, but less unestablished than below.

I was thinking of: $DRO (+4.52%)
$HIMS (-1.57%)
$RKLB (-1.85%)
$QBTS (-1.32%)
$CRSP (-1.42%)
$PLUG (-2.17%)
$UPST (-1.34%)
$ONDS (-0.4%)
$SOL (+1.02%)
$SMCI (-1.54%)

What would be your suggestions?

Would it be better to invest in a separate portfolio group at Scalable or in a new portfolio (TR)? Do I see the separate return with the separate portfolio group at Scalable?

My question would be what do you currently think is better or has the best risk/reward ratio?

$SOL (+1.02%) or $ETH (-1.49%)

Or does it not matter.

My plan was 50% in Bitcoin and the other 50% either Ethereum or Solana.

(This is of course a crypto portfolio and only represents a small part of my portfolio overall)

@Investingyoung You're dealing with that right now.