Guo Yu: From financial freedom at 28 to redefining freedom at 34

34-year-old Guo Yu seems to be forever on the road.

From Hokkaido to Tokyo, from Tanzania to Sri Lanka, and to his “happy hometown” Maldives—this former internet entrepreneur is marking the passage of life through travel. Six years ago, he left ByteDance, claiming to have achieved “financial freedom” and retired at 28, becoming a template of escape in the eyes of many young people. Now, looking back, Guo Yu’s understanding of freedom has undergone a subtle yet profound transformation.

A Rational Choice of an Internet Lucky Guy

Guo Yu’s story began with the viral resignation letter in 2020—“I choose to retire at the end of 28, to embrace mountain springs and canyon breezes.” Four months later, this letter resurfaced, igniting online discussions—some envied, some questioned, and others saw him as a representative of “lucky ones in the internet startup boom.”

But Guo Yu doesn’t see himself that way. He says he’s not naturally lucky, but has built his path to financial freedom step by step through a series of rational choices and practices.

His childhood spent in a remote mine in Jiangxi shaped his obsession with choices. During those extremely lonely summer and winter vacations, Christian books and writing became his only spiritual outlets. Later, at Shenzhen High School, he first realized that “choice is more important than effort.” The entrepreneurial children there made him understand that fate is not predetermined but can be rewritten through choices and practice.

After studying Politics and Administration at Jinan University, Guo Yu quickly realized that this path wouldn’t support his future livelihood. He decided to teach himself programming. “There was no other way at the time; I had to find a way to support myself.” With this persistence, he joined Alipay after graduation, beginning to accumulate industry experience.

The real turning point came in 2014. That year, his company was acquired by ByteDance, and he became an early employee of this startup valued at only $500 million. Over the next six years, he devoted himself to core project development, witnessing ByteDance’s valuation multiply a hundredfold. The stock options he received early on soared in value, marking a key stage in Guo Yu’s wealth accumulation.

Rather than luck, it was his keen grasp of each critical moment and firm choices that made the difference.

A Decade of Crypto Market Observation—What Has He Seen

Guo Yu’s story with Bitcoin began in 2013. At that time, working at Alipay, he was attracted by the heated discussions on Hacker News about Bitcoin surpassing $100, and he even participated in internal technical sharing sessions. Back then, most transactions were done via Taobao’s OTC channels, and he had even bought Ripple promoted by Sun Yuchen.

During the ICO boom in 2017, Guo Yu first tried writing smart contracts. After leaving ByteDance and settling in Japan, he still published a long article on Mirror in 2021, reviewing the missed technological trends. If ByteDance’s wealth allowed him to retire early, then the crypto world is his playground for maintaining technical intuition and mental vitality.

But a decade of market observation has made Guo Yu a calm critic. Recently on Twitter, he shared a widely resonant view in the crypto community: “Many friends in the crypto space have no concept of money—they go all-in today, and all-in on that tomorrow. Constantly trading, watching charts, sitting in front of the computer, it’s easy to lose touch with reality. I still recommend everyone read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles. Spend your money on life experiences.”

Behind this statement is Guo Yu’s systematic reflection on the evolution of the entire crypto market. He divides Bitcoin’s price discovery mechanism into three stages:

The first stage is the “Ancient OTC trading era.” He personally experienced that period, dominated by over-the-counter trading, with dispersed prices. The mining costs at mining farms largely determined Bitcoin’s true price foundation for a long time.

The second stage is the “Centralized exchange order book era.” Efficient order books replaced OTC, but brought new problems. Exchanges introduced futures and perpetual contracts, and the price models no longer followed basic supply and demand logic.

The third stage, which Guo Yu considers most cautionary, is the “Wall Street trading era after Bitcoin ETF approval.” His blunt conclusion: “From that moment on, Bitcoin lost its original purpose—to help everyone resist unlimited debt inflation. After Wall Street took over, Bitcoin has been handed around every day.”

Guo Yu observed that the spot holdings and trading volume of CEXs shrank sharply afterward, and their trading volume no longer reflected Bitcoin’s true price. He predicts that Wall Street’s next move will be to turn mainstream tokens into yield-bearing assets, with prices stabilizing. “I think the story of Bitcoin has reached its final chapter; the four-year cycle is over.”

This is not pessimism, but a clear market awareness. Unlike many short-term profit players, Guo Yu still holds early crypto assets he bought and has never sold. His reason is simple: “Selling is too complicated for taxes, and I have enough to spend.” This reveals his unique attitude towards wealth—own it, but not enslaved by it.

Living as a “Hidden Person” in Japan

In the six years since leaving his job, Guo Yu has traveled across most of Japan, staying in 530 hot spring inns during the pandemic. He has studied hot spring culture to the extreme: Kyushu’s Kurokawa Onsen is famous for scenery; Kusatsu Onsen emphasizes pH and mineral content; mixed bathing culture dates back to the Meiji era. Travel is not his pastime but life itself.

In Tokyo, Guo Yu maintains a state of “comfortable detachment.” Morning cleaning is like meditation; he limits himself to two hours of market watching at night, avoiding market noise as much as possible. He enjoys the “invisible” state: self-checkout at convenience stores, registering at hot spring inns under a pseudonym, no one paying attention to his identity. This is not escapism but a choice—refusing to be labeled.

Writing has been Guo Yu’s consistent habit. From childhood diaries to high school essays, and now Twitter posts and long articles, the form has changed but the essence of recording and reflection remains. He once wrote for City Pictorial, documenting Japanese hot springs, and even openly kept a “love diary,” candidly discussing open relationships. This sincere expression is especially precious in an era filled with falsehoods on social media.

His MBTI type is INFJ—introverted, restrained, but not closed. His life list is filled with “fun plans”: getting a sailing license, learning to drive a motorcycle, trying adventures he never imagined. This is Guo Yu’s way of expressing another form of life—freedom is not escape but continuous self-discovery through experience.

Regarding online reputation, Guo Yu has developed a mature coping mechanism. 2020 was his most controversial year online, with overwhelming comments troubling him. Now he is quite calm: “Unless it involves family or partners, I basically don’t respond.” This shift can be seen as strategic self-protection and a clear boundary setting.

Guo Yu’s True View of Freedom

After six years of practice and reflection, Guo Yu’s definition of “freedom” has completely changed from his initial understanding when he left his job. He admits: “In the past, I thought financial freedom was absolute freedom—that was a mistake. The most important thing is that we need to realize this issue and its importance early in life.”

This is a profound transformation. Financial freedom is just a prerequisite; true freedom comes from redefining life and continuous self-exploration. Guo Yu no longer pursues the “next destination.” Every departure is not to escape the past but to reach a more authentic self.

In this sense, travel, writing, love, and friendship are all part of a flowing journey. Guo Yu maintains rationality through ten years of crypto market observation, completes transformation through five years of life in Japan, and proves through action that freedom is not a destination but a continuous process of arrival.

So when asked about the “next wave,” 34-year-old Guo Yu no longer seeks eagerly. He knows that truly belonging opportunities often come from continuous experience and accumulation. On this voyage, he seeks not only wealth or achievement but a way of being that transcends time and identity—that is the true meaning of freedom.

It’s not about escaping something but learning to settle oneself through continuous arrivals. This is the question Guo Yu answers with his life.