Speaking of putting effort into something, do you agree with me that there are some people who are putting effort or putting a lot of energy into the wrong thing? It could be the wrong investment or another thing, be it business, etc. So, it's not just about putting in an effort or putting in positive energy; it's also about putting in those efforts and energy in the right place and at the right time. Apart from bitcoin, you also said "cryptocurrency." So, for example, imagine someone who has been investing in Tera Luna and has not taken any profit until it crashed.
I think we need the right information, the right knowledge, effort, positive energy, passion, luck, etc. Like in the OP's topic, "it ain't meant to be easy," but at least someone needs those above-listed qualities to surf through. Definitely, it will not be easy, but some times and in some cases, you can diversify a little and try something different, but instead, some people will just keep putting effort into something that can just be fruitless at the end of the day.
Most often this can happen when a person wants to make his hobby the main source of income, and especially when it does not bring the expected profit. It is commendable when a person tries to do what he likes, but the point is that we should always have a main source of income that will provide him with a decent standard of living and allow him to create capital for further investments.
If a person does not have this, and he is trying to provide for his family with his hobby, then it very often happens that he will have financial problems, but he will feel more free, I mean that he will not have a boss who will tell him what do.
I believe that we can develop our hobby in parallel with our main job and quit work only when we have managed to develop our hobby well enough. Bitcoin is a good investment, but it will be meaningless if we do not have the funds to buy Bitcoin.