Do you know Kiarash Hossainpour? The name has become a kind of warning in the crypto scene—a story about how quickly things can go downhill when you become overconfident.

The guy was born in 1999 in Berlin, the son of an Iranian family who fled to Germany before the revolution. His father was a computer scientist and handed him a computer at an early age. Instead of betting on sports, his father told him: Learn to program if you want to make money with computers. And he did.

At 13, Hossainpour started his first YouTube channel—initially gaming content, then WordPress sites for $30. In 2014, he received his first Bitcoin payment. That was the moment a light went on for him. In 2015, he took a big step: nearly €40,000 in Bitcoin. His parents naturally asked if that was legal, if it was real money. But Hossainpour was convinced.

And at first, it went well. The numbers rose, and he used that as proof of his competence. A YouTube channel about finance, millions on the screen, photos with Lamborghinis and Cuban cigars. The successful young entrepreneur—that’s the story he told.

Then came the crash. In May 2022, Luna lost 99 percent of its value. Hossainpour had heavily bet on it—on his channel with messianic zeal. From one day to the next: 90 percent of his portfolio gone. He admits he didn’t see it coming. The "sixth sense" that made him one of the most successful financial influencers suddenly went silent.

What is the 22-year-old doing now? He doesn’t give up. He says he still invests in Bitcoin, that losses are part of the game, that he is a "strategic investor" who doesn’t panic. Bitcoin is currently around $71,000—far from the all-time high of about $126,000 we just saw. At least it’s more stable than Luna.

But here’s the core question: How responsible is it to lead hundreds of thousands of followers into such investments when you clearly don’t know what you’re doing yourself? Hossainpour’s story is less a success story than a lesson about how dangerous it can be to get rich quickly and then pass that on to others. His background and path show an intelligent guy, but also someone who massively underestimated the limits of his expertise.