Pray for Shrimp

by John Hargrave on 12/17/2018

Do you remember the scene in Forrest Gump where Forrest buys the shrimp boat?

At first, no shrimp. Forrest and Lieutenant Dan are pulling up nothing but trash from the bottom of the bayou.

Then a terrible hurricane rocks the coast—and at the end of this ferocious storm, Forrest and Lieutenant Dan are the only ones left standing.

Here’s the clip to refresh your memory:


If you’re an investor in blockchain, 2018 may have felt like the year of the hurricane. Did you stay out on the boat, weathering the storm? Or did you flee for “safety,” tying your boat to shore?

If you stayed in—if you’re reading this now—then you will enjoy the bountiful catch to come. The storm will pass. And afterward, All-You-Can-Eat Endless Shrimp at participating Red Lobster locations.

What Follows Crypto Winter?

The blockchain industry is calling this period “crypto winter,” and I like that phrase. Winter implies seasons, and seasons change. If this is crypto winter, then surely it will be followed by crypto spring, where animals mate and flowers bloom.

Crypto winter has, of course, been driven by the price of bitcoin, which stood at $20,000 just a year ago, and today is a little over $3,000. As the blockchain market moves in tandem with bitcoin, the price of most altcoins and tokens plummeted. FOMO turned to FUD.

Yet so many people kept the fire going. I have been inspired by the entrepreneurs, developers, investors, traders, and lawyers (yes, even the lawyers) who have moved the industry so far forward this year. We’re all out on the blockchain boat together, weathering the mighty winter hurricane.

In business, we call this a “shakeout,” where an overcrowded marketplace is pruned to a manageable size. Only the healthiest and strongest survive.

Expect more of these shakeouts in the years to come: there will likely be only two or three winners in healthcare blockchains, identity blockchains, supply chain blockchains, and so on—just as there are only two or three winners in the ride-sharing market (Uber, Lyft, and hitchhiking).

This is how the technology industry rolls: an initial wave of excitement and investment, followed by shakeout and consolidation. This is the industry we’ve chosen. It’s a roller coaster.

Whether you’re like Forrest Gump madly scurrying about the deck, or like Lt. Dan challenging God to “TRY HARDER!”, the fact that you’re still standing—that you’re still reading this—is what matters.

Have faith the storm will pass; it always does. Ask yourself, Where do I want to be when the blockchain market heats up again? Steer your boat to the best fishing spot, and wait.

Pray for shrimp.

John Hargrave is the CEO of Media Shower. Subscribe here to get his shrimp fishing forecast for free.