I Lived on Crypto for 30 Days in 2025 – Here’s What It Taught Me. | by John | The Capital | Feb, 2025

On January 1, 2025, I made a bet with myself: for 30 days, I’d live entirely on cryptocurrency – no cash, no credit cards, just digital coins. Why? I’d been dabbling in crypto since 2022 – made a few bucks on Solana, lost some on a meme coin – and kept hearing it was “the future of money.” X posts hyped Bitcoin ATMs, crypto debit cards, even coffee shops taking Ethereum. But was it real? Could I, a 32-year-old barista with $2,000 in my wallet, actually survive on it?

Spoiler: I did – mostly. Those 30 days were a rollercoaster of triumphs, frustrations, and coffee-fueled revelations. I paid rent, Bought groceries, even tipped my barber with crypto. Here’s how it went, what it cost me, and what it taught me about money – digital or otherwise – in 2025.

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I started with $2,000 split across my portfolio: $1,000 in Bitcoin (BTC), $500 in Ethereum (ETH), $300 in Solana (SOL), and $200 in USDC for stability. My tools? A Coinbase wallet, a BitPay debit card (loaded with crypto), and a prayer that merchants wouldn’t laugh me out the door.