Have you noticed? You can hear the title sing.
While most people are busy exchanging holiday greetings or sharing year-end reviews this Christmas, I am here, seemingly untactful, urging users to upgrade their LikeCoin. Forgive me—the window for the upgrade is closing fast, and I’m suffering from a severe case of FOMO. But it’s not that I’m afraid of missing out; it’s my Fear Of Your Missing Out. I’m terrified that users will miss the last train, leaving their LikeCoin to become digital dust.
The Ultimatum: Action Required by Early January
Let me repeat the most critical point: Users holding LikeCoin v2 (wallet addresses starting with like1) must upgrade to LikeCoin v3 (on the Base chain, addresses starting with 0x) before February 2, 2026.
Do not see that date and think you can deal with it later. If your LikeCoin is currently staked, it takes 21 days to unstake. In other words, you must initiate the process by early January at the latest, and that’s assuming everything goes smoothly. While the upgrade itself usually takes only minutes, if you forget your login, need a password reset, or require support, I might not be able to help you immediately due to the high volume of support tickets. Please, leave yourself more time.
I am usually a man of few words who hates repeating himself. However, I often remind myself: Speaking doesn’t mean being heard; being heard doesn’t mean being understood. I am learning to restate important messages from different angles.
For this v3 upgrade, I’ve thrown my usual reserve out the window—I’ve been “shameless.” Beyond weekly reminders in every article regardless of the topic and a permanent notice on the Keplr dashboard, I’ve been doing a daily countdown on X. I’ve written about the same thing in a dozen different ways. By day 20, even X’s algorithm got fed up with me and started shadow-banning my tweets.
But mass broadcasts are only half the story. Most of the heavy lifting happens in small circles or one-on-one. I’ve compiled a list of over 30,000 wallets that hold LikeCoin and have an associated email. Since November, I’ve sent five dedicated articles to every email on that list. Yet, through the funnel of delivery, opening, reading, and taking action, the numbers dwindle. After all that, the successful upgrade rate is less than 10%.
Mass mailing tools often get flagged as marketing mail or even spam by Gmail. To increase delivery rates, I sorted the list by LikeCoin holdings and sent one-on-one emails to the top 50 whales. For the rest, I sent emails in small batches directly from my own address. By the 989th “LikeCoin tycoon,” even ProtonMail warned me of spamming and rate-limited me for an hour. I can’t afford to have my email or domain blacklisted, so I’ve had to lay low like a “wanted man” for a while. I also tried Mailchimp, but had my account banned. I’ll omit the details to avoid creating “criminal evidence.”
The real breakthrough of my comfort zone came next—I started calling people. Yes, for most, a phone call is routine. But those who know me know that I view an unannounced call as the social equivalent of sneaking up behind someone and screaming in their ear. In a typical year, I make fewer phone calls than I write handwritten letters. True story: even when Dave has owed me money for years, I’ve never called to debt-collect. To call people proactively just to prevent them from losing their assets? For me, that is truly “doing whatever it takes.”
Giving Up the Upgrade = A Donation to the Community
If you think that’s all, I’m afraid you’re wrong. Those 30,000 email-linked wallets are only a fraction. Many “Web3 natives”—including one of my own wallets—have no personal data linked to them at all.
No one knows who owns these wallets except the users themselves. This is the pinnacle of privacy, but it also means I have no way to reach them. It’s like cash: a holder remains anonymous, but when a specific banknote is being phased out, the bank has no way to notify the holder. All I can do is broadcast as loudly as possible and hope users open my messages or that social media algorithms show some mercy.
This is the fundamental difference between Centralization and Decentralization. In a centralized app, the developer decides on an upgrade, and it happens without user permission or action. Decentralized systems are different. Because assets are self-custodied, the user must take action. It’s like a currency redesign; you must physically go and exchange your old notes for new ones. Imagine a “Brave New World” where your digital currency upgrades automatically without your involvement. Convenient? Yes. But it also means you never truly owned those assets in the first place.
Let’s look at the LikeCoin books: v3 has a total supply of 1.5 billion. As of this writing, over 930 million have been upgraded from v2, while over 560 million remain unclaimed. That’s an upgrade rate of about 62%.
The reasons for not upgrading are many. Some simply don’t care because the amount is small. But even with Bitcoin, it’s estimated that 28% is lost forever. It’s not just about the money; it’s about being unaware, forgetting the wallet exists, losing mnemonics, or having an expired email. Whatever the reason, if a user still cares—even if it’s just for a few LikeCoins—I will do my best to support them.
Satoshi Nakamoto once said:
“Lost coins only make everyone else’s coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone.”
The same applies to LikeCoin. Technically, if more people miss the upgrade, it benefits me and other holders. After the deadline, unclaimed LikeCoin will flow into the “Community Pool” to be redistributed by the community. In other words, users who miss or waive the upgrade are essentially donating to the community.
So, the fact that I am working this hard to keep every user is, strictly speaking, irrational. I’ve participated in many token swaps and airdrops as a user, and I’ve never seen a project beg people to claim their tokens. Usually, there’s an announcement on X, maybe a Medium post, and that’s it. If you don’t follow the news, you’re out. That approach is justifiable; it allows the team to focus on the new version and core users.
I am this “FO-Y-MO” because I refuse to leave any user behind. Decentralized publishing shouldn’t be a toy for tech geeks; LikeCoin aims for the general public. In the past, it was difficult to use due to technical constraints. But as the industry evolves, those who have used LikeCoin v3 and 3ook.com will agree: registration and usage are now much easier. This is just the beginning. In the coming years, LikeCoin will be simpler, more fun, and more powerful. It would be a tragedy for someone who has been with us since v1 or v2 to drop out now.
Ultimate Support: Live at Just Books
Finally, I’m adding one more form of support: Live upgrade assistance at Just Books.
Oops, I “accidentally” let the secret slip. After a year of delays, Just Books (義守書店) has finally started its soft opening. We are located right across from Sam Kee Book Store in North Point: Shop 8, B/F, King’s Centre, 193 King’s Road.
In 2026, I will transition from “unemployed” to “small business owner,” occasionally manning the shop. The official schedule isn’t set yet, but as a warm-up, I’ll be spending Christmas Day and New Year’s Day at the bookstore to help users solve LikeCoin-related issues. If you are in Hong Kong, come by:
- Dec 25: 14:00 – 18:00
- Jan 1: 12:00 – 20:00
Please bring your laptop. To avoid a queue, please make an appointment in advance.
See you at Just Books.
POLL: Regarding LikeCoin holders who haven’t upgraded to v3, we should…
- Carrot and Stick: Emphasize potential future value; make them fear the regret of giving up.
- Patient Persuasion: Use emotion and logic; save as many as we can.
- Formal Notice Only: A few posts on X and the website; doing the bare minimum for accountability is enough.
- Ignore Them: Why bother? Fewer upgrades mean more for the rest of us.
- None of the above: Let me leave a comment.
P.S. Thanks to your support, 75 copies of the “Attack of Freedom” (進擊的自由) IBO have been sold, with only 25 remaining. I will write another post soon to introduce the book’s content. If you wish to participate in the first-ever IBO in publishing history, I suggest grabbing your copy now before they’re gone. Wishing you all a peaceful holiday and a Merry Christmas.
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