🙈 So… I got phished. Yes, me. ...🐷💚 - CryptoGran Weekly — Issue #13

Hi Reader

Life happens in 3's...

Right. I owe you an explanation — and honestly, I debated whether to tell you the full story or just breeze back in with a casual "Happy Spring!" But that's not how I roll, and you deserve better than that.

In January, I had great plans for a new in person event... a barrage of things went wrong, not least norovirus impacting a chunk of attendees and a last minute cancellation by my caterers.

Then a bigger issue was that I got 'phished' and it has put us all back by 3 months.

If you want to know more, read on, or if not jump to the next section

I created a new Facebook advert. One hour later — literally one hour — an email landed that looked exactly like it came from Facebook. Same branding. Same tone. Perfectly timed. It said I'd breached their terms and conditions, and that if I didn't respond, my account would be closed.

So I clicked the link. Of course I did. I'd just created an advert — my brain connected the dots exactly the way they wanted it to.

That stomach-drop moment? I had it instantly. You know the one — like when you realise you've left your handbag on the train and the doors have already closed.

It was a phishing email. And I'd walked right into it.

I contacted Facebook within minutes. Minutes. And they did… absolutely nothing. No lock on the account. No urgent response. Nothing.

What happened next was a masterclass in how not to treat a customer. The attackers drained the bank card linked to my ad account, used my email to blast out spam (which destroyed our sender reputation overnight), and then tossed away my account of 15 years like yesterday's teabag. Despite over 100 hours of calls, forms, appeals, and increasingly creative emails from me — Meta never properly helped. Not once.

The email chaos took three months to untangle. I could still technically send emails, but they were landing in your spam folders — so our cyber team had to ring-fence everything, carefully rebuild our reputation, and nurse our deliverability back to health.

Am I embarrassed? A bit. Am I furious with Meta? Enormously. Especially as they know that this is happening to many small businesses like mine and Meta have zero intention of helping solve this.

But let me be absolutely clear about something: this was a social media attack, not a crypto attack. My crypto portfolio? Completely untouched. Not a single satoshi. Not a penny. Because that side of my life is locked down — proper security, proper processes, proper paranoia. The attackers got into my Facebook and the email that come from Facebook/Meta account. They didn't get anywhere near my crypto.

And that distinction matters — because too many people hear "hack" and assume it means crypto is dangerous. It wasn't crypto that let me down. It was a 15-year-old Facebook Advertising Account and a phishing email that looked exactly like the real thing.

BUT.... I'm back. The newsletter has had a refresh. Same honesty, same Saturday morning coffee. Let's crack on. ☕

📰One Thing That Happened This Week

A ceasefire, a price jump, and a reminder that Bitcoin reads the news before you do.

While I've been away wrestling with Meta's customer service (don't get me started again), the crypto market has been having its own adventure.

Quick recap for those who haven't been watching: Bitcoin hit an all-time high above $126,000 back in October. Then it fell. And fell some more. By early April it was bumping around the $68,000 mark and everyone on crypto Twitter was screaming "bear market!"

Then on Tuesday — a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran. Oil dropped like a stone. And Bitcoin? Jumped past $72,800 overnight like someone had plugged it back in.

Now, a ceasefire is not a peace deal. Two weeks is not forever. And price jumps on headlines can disappear just as fast. So no — this is not a "rush in and buy everything" moment.

But here's what's actually interesting underneath the noise…

🧠The CryptoGran Reality Check

Everyone's panicking. The smart money isn't. Here's why.

I've spent the last three months doing what I always do — reading, listening, learning from people much smarter than me. And the picture they're painting is very different from the doom-and-gloom you'll see on social media.

Here's what the serious investors are actually saying:

The cycle hasn't ended — it's stretched. The traditional four-year crypto cycle appears to have extended into a five-year super cycle. That means the peak everyone expected in 2025? It may simply have been pushed into 2026. The bull market isn't dead. It's just taking the scenic route.

Liquidity is the key — and it's about to turn. Right now, global money supply is tight. That's why everything feels stuck. But there's a wall of government debt coming due that will need refinancing — and when central banks start pumping liquidity back into the system, risk assets (hello, crypto) tend to take off. That shift could happen this year.

The infrastructure is the real story. While everyone's staring at the Bitcoin price, something huge is happening underneath. Stablecoin transaction volume hit $33 trillion last year — up from basically nothing five years ago. Major institutions are building on blockchain. Circle went public. Coinbase acquired one of the world's biggest derivatives exchanges. The plumbing of the financial system is being quietly rebuilt — and most people haven't noticed.

So if your portfolio is down from last year's highs and it all feels a bit flat — take a breath. You're not behind. You're early for what comes next. And the best thing you can do right now is exactly what you're doing: learning, staying calm, and not making emotional decisions at 11pm because someone on YouTube told you to.

🎬While I Was Away, I Made You Something... and it's FREE

"But Yvonne… isn't crypto just a massive Ponzi scheme?"

One of my students said something to me recently that stopped me in my tracks. She said: "The problem is, most people I know think crypto is basically a scam — because that's all the media ever shows them."

And she's right. If your only window into crypto is news headlines about crashes, scandals, and people losing their life savings on dog-themed coins — then of course you'd think the whole thing is dodgy. Who wouldn't?

I get it. I really do. And I remember what it felt like before I understood this space — the confusion, the suspicion, that nagging feeling of "everyone's talking about this and I don't know if I'm missing out or dodging a bullet."

Here's what changed it for me: I looked past the headlines and saw what's actually being built.

I'm involved in investing in new and emerging businesses in this space, and the amount of genuinely world-changing innovation happening right now is staggering.

We're not just talking about buying and selling coins. We're talking about the modernisation of the entire internet — how money moves, how contracts work, how ownership is proven, how businesses get funded. It's why I'm so evangelical about this space. It's real. And most people never hear about it.

So I made something for the person who's curious but cautious. The person who wants to understand before they decide. The person who's maybe been reading this newsletter for a while and thinking "I wish I could just start at the beginning."

This is what it feels like to start:

Ready to see what the fuss is about? Check Out The FREE Mini Series>>

And if you already know the basics? Send the link to that friend, sister, colleague, or daughter who keeps saying "I just don't get it." Thirty minutes of their time could change how they see the next decade of money. 💚

🔐Coming Soon

Something good came out of this mess.

My crypto was fine — I know how to protect that. But the social media attack exposed something I hadn't thought about carefully enough: the rest of my digital life. The everyday stuff most of us leave wide open without realising.

I contacted a cyber security expert and asked: "Is this just me?" The answer? This is happening more than ever. Every new account is another door — and most of us haven't checked the locks in years.

Cyber security isn't my expertise — crypto is — but I now know the two can't be separated. So I've done something for you all...

BREAKING: I've partnered with a specialist cyber security firm to create a subscription available to everyone — not just Academy members. Anyone who follows CryptoGran. We still cover crypto security in the Academy and this will add to that.

Online training and ongoing support covering your computers, phones, tablets, browsing, email, social media, passwords — and your crypto portfolio too.

I'll teach you how to invest. They'll make sure nobody can steal it - the cost is less than a coffee each month and I share full details over the coming next month.

Watch this space. 💚

🌱Community Spotlight — Learn With Me

The full framework. Our 9-step CryptoGran Method takes you from foundations through to diversification, tracking, profit-taking and long-term confidence. It's not day trading. It's not hype. It's calm, structured investing — built for normal busy people.

🎉 Affiliate news:

A huge thank-you to the amazing graduates who are already helping others safely build their crypto investment portfolios.

You're the reason this community works. As a reward, we've bumped our affiliate commission from 20% to 30%.

Right now, for each intro you will earn £600 - that goes a long way toward building your crypto portfolio.

If you've graduated from the Academy and want to help someone you care about get started properly — you now earn more for doing it. Ask me how. 💚

✨ Summary — Calm Is Still the Edge

I got phished (social media, not crypto).

The market's been choppy but the smart money is positioning.

The cycle isn't over — it's stretched.

We've launched a new education video series.

And the best thing you can do right now is learn, stay calm, and keep showing up.

Learn safely. Invest simply. Grow steadily.

💚 Yvonne