Today, our guest is Artem Onishchuk (Tema Ultra) — co-founder and CFO of A01K, the biggest trading community in CIS region, an entrepreneur and investor who has been working in crypto for more than 5 years.
In this interview, Artem shares his view on the current market: what’s really happening right now, why many people feel stuck, and where to look for opportunities during a prolonged cycle. We discuss where he’s investing today, how his team adapts education to the realities of the current market rather than past bull runs, and which approaches are no longer working.
– Artem, hi! Tell us—how did you get into crypto in the first place? What year was it, how did your journey start, and how did you eventually become a co-founder of A01K?
Hi. I came into crypto in 2019—that was when I bought my first crypto asset. At the time, I was working at the State Land Cadastre of Kyiv region, sitting in an office and doing an internship. Bitcoin was around $3,000 back then and almost immediately started going up. I made money, and that was the moment I realized I didn’t want an office life anymore and wanted to understand this space more deeply.
I started specifically with trading—scalping crypto. I also tried Forex, but scalping worked best for me, and that’s where I made my first real money. Scalping essentially helped me grow my deposit from almost nothing and build a solid amount over a couple of years.
Later, I became interested in expanding further—not just trading, but also investing, reinvesting, and participating in sales. I saw that others were getting good results, especially with airdrops—you could make serious money there as well. That’s how my life gradually became fully connected to both trading and crypto.
As for the community side: I have a partner, Sergey. He’s quite public and has a large audience. A big part of building A01K came from his public presence.
– How did that partnership and the creation of A01K actually happen?
It wasn’t an accident or pure luck—I was working toward it. Sergey and I met, started communicating, and over time it grew from a friendship into a partnership.
We started very small, step by step, and eventually built a full ecosystem. I and the other partners mainly handle operations—making sure everything is structured, running properly, that there are quality products, a strong team, and a clear direction for people to join.
Sergey, on the other hand, focused on visibility—making sure people actually heard about us. In many ways, the community was built through his public presence. In Ukraine, he was one of the first people to talk openly about crypto.
I personally heard about him completely by chance. We weren’t friends or connected in any way. At that time, crypto wasn’t really discussed in the media—not just in Ukraine, but across the entire CIS region.
– How is your ecosystem structured today? Besides trading and “classic crypto” activities like ICOs, retrodrops, and on-chain activity—are there other areas you’re developing?
Our two main directions are trading and crypto, but over time we’ve also developed sub-directions.
Right now, we’re actively growing GM Agency—a marketing agency where we help projects with marketing, PR, and KOL collaborations. We can close these requests quickly thanks to direct connections. We also have a small technical direction—a team that builds products and Telegram applications.
– You’ve said that the market has changed significantly compared to 2020–2022. How do you see the current situation? Where are people going now—classic trading or crypto directions like retrodrops and on-chain activity?
The market has definitely changed, but that doesn’t mean it’s worse—it’s just different. In 2021, there were many fast money stories. But there were also plenty of opportunities in 2024–2025—the market just operated under different rules.
If ICOs were the main model in 2021, and almost everyone was abusing them, the market later matured.
In 2024, many of the biggest gains weren’t made by traders, but by people launching their own meme coins. These weren’t unreachable teams—just regular people who previously made money on Bitcoin and ICOs and then started building their own projects.
Many say, “That will never happen again,” but that’s not true—the form just changes. Onchain trading (“degen”) emerged as an alternative to the ICO model: the same upside, but with more complexity and psychological pressure. Right now, the market is in a phase of correction and consolidation, which is normal—most of the time, markets either go sideways or down.
In the end, those who win are the ones who stay flexible—who adapt and let go of outdated models. Crypto is very young, around 15 years old, and constantly changing. You can’t get stuck in what used to work.
– Crypto is extremely dynamic, with trends changing every few months. How do you adapt your education programs and explain to beginners what matters right now?
Trading is simpler in that sense—narratives and approaches change, but the fundamentals stay the same.
Crypto, on the other hand, is constantly evolving, so we have to be flexible and update education regularly. You can see this clearly in our academy updates. In 2024, we started with retrodrops, ICOs, investments, nodes, and NFTs—but later removed what stopped working.
Then we added degen trading and on-chain trading—how to find and trade meme coins. We constantly update the product: remove outdated content and add what’s relevant. Essentially, we evolve together with the market.
The latest major update was inter-exchange arbitrage, spreads, and funding rates. We added this block in spring and believe the timing was right—it’s now one of the most relevant and hyped narratives, especially among younger people in the CIS.
– What are you investing in long-term now, and are you speculating at all in the current market?
Right now, my portfolio is basically stagnant — and that’s fine. Occasionally, I enter position trades “on candles,” mostly to cover current expenses, but overall the market isn’t about active profits right now. I fixed most of my positions back in September, keeping only a small portion in BTC and ETH.
– Why did you decide to exit the market in September? What signals did you see?
There were three key reasons.
First—the chart. On higher timeframes, weakness was visible: price couldn’t break highs, there was no buyer. For me, that’s a strong signal—the chart rarely lies.
Second—fundamentals. A lot of positive news was coming out, but it stopped moving the price. Any news caused a small pump and was immediately sold off. That means the market was using news for distribution.
Third—crowd sentiment. Everyone was convinced the “altseason was just beginning.” There was euphoria everywhere—memes, BSC season, new listings, random assets doing multiples. That combination is a clear signal for me to exit.
Long-term, I’m looking at Bitcoin as an alternative to gold. The hype around gold at all-time highs looks suspicious to me—I wouldn’t be surprised if large players rotate out of gold into Bitcoin, which is simpler, more liquid, and has a fixed supply.
– Can October 2025 be considered the start of a bear market?
In my view, the bear market started back in September—when I exited. That was the last wave of euphoria, the final multiples, the peak FOMO. From September–October onward, we’ve essentially been in a bear market.
The question now is how long it will last. The world has accelerated, the halving effect is much weaker, and there’s a lot of liquidity in the system. I don’t think this bear market will be as long as previous ones. More likely, we’ll see constant local narratives and pumps—there won’t be a completely “dead” market with nothing to do.
– Are you looking at the stock market as a reference now? Do you use it as an indicator for crypto entries, or are you considering stock investments yourself?
Yes, right now I primarily watch the stock market. I might already be buying Bitcoin, but I want to see what equities do first. The S&P 500 and major indices are at all-time highs, while uncertainty is everywhere—Trump’s actions, the Fed leadership question, interest rate policy, unclear real inflation.
Markets don’t like uncertainty, especially at highs. Given geopolitics, trade wars, and economic risks, I believe a correction or even a flash crash is possible. That’s why I’m waiting. If stocks start correcting and pull crypto down, that’s when I’ll look for initial long-term entries. Long-term, Bitcoin is still my main focus — I’m just waiting for a better entry point.
– What principles helped you avoid blowing up after 2020–2021 and successfully go through the 2022–2023 bear market?
First — having a business helps a lot. People who rely only on crypto and pure speculation struggle psychologically in these phases. They immediately worry about income and survival. When you have a business, it still brings some revenue — not bull-market money, but enough to stay calm and avoid fear-based decisions.
Second — you always need something to do. In bear markets, we build: products, materials, projects. I believe the best thing to do in a bear market is to build. Some people study, some read, some build communities. When you’re busy, you’re not staring at charts asking, “Where should I put my money?” — which almost always leads to losses.
Third—long-term thinking. In 2022–2023, I bought Bitcoin at $16–20k. At the time, it didn’t bring any profit. But when I later closed those positions, they generated the biggest gains of the entire bull run. The same applies now: I can make moves that don’t bring income today, but I know that in 2–3 years, they’ll deliver the main result. That’s how this market works.
– What advice would you give to people who are in crypto now—either newcomers or those stuck in stagnation?
First—don’t be alone. When you’re alone with the market, it feels like you’re the only one struggling or doing something wrong. Talking to others — especially those who’ve already been through similar phases — helps a lot. Community is the foundation; it’s much easier to get through these periods together.
Second — if it gets really hard, it’s okay to take a break. A break doesn’t mean giving up. Many people resist this because of ego—it feels like stopping means the market “won.” But taking a pause for a month or two, switching focus to family, other activities, or learning is completely fine and often beneficial.
Overall, these phases are great for learning and rebuilding. When the market is flying, money comes easily and problems stay hidden. In stagnation, weaknesses become obvious—whether in product, marketing, or content. You start looking for new opportunities. Personally, in just a month and a half, I discovered two new directions I hadn’t noticed before. These markets teach you to think, adapt, and lay the foundation for the next cycle.