This Bitcoin cycle has been a rollercoaster. We’ve seen the highs, we’ve seen the lows. We all got to see another Bitcoin cycle. Also another round of traders getting wrecked.
There were few who made life-changing money. Some with Bitcoin while others with insane meme pumps and insider information.
But while some people made that life-changing money, most ended up losing — or at best, breaking even.
Many have complained that alt-season hasn’t come.
So the opportunity to make money just hasn’t been the same. But this is only half true. Many major alt-coins had did have significant pumps since January 2023:
- Bitcoin up over 500%
- Ethereum pumped 250%
- XRP pumped 600%
- Solana pumped over 2900%
- TRX pumped 800%
And these are only some of the best in the top 20 coins.
So to say that opportunities were non-existent and that alt-season never came aren’t entirely true.
True these numbers are nowhere near the returns seen in previous cycles, but they’re still significant. As such, most people didn’t fail to make gains because alt-season didn’t come.
The majority of the traders and investors failed to make a profit for different reasons altogether, which I will list below.
If you’re looking to learn more about trading and investing, you can join my free telegram here. I post all my educational content and trade setups here!
You can also access my new and complete risk management guide here where I explain my entire risk management strategy.
1. The “HODL Forever” Trap: Not Taking Profits
I’ve heard far too many traders say that the biggest mistake in cryptocurrency is taking profits too early.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
The biggest mistake is taking profits too late. As an investor and a trader, you always want to pay yourself for your effort and patience.
Otherwise, what is all this for?
Bitcoin is fundamentally strong and is here to stay as institutions continue to adopt it. It may make sense to HODL forever, but the people who believe that should also not complain when price declines.
They should just stay waiting for years on end since their investment reason is based off of that.
People watch their portfolio 5x, 10x, and think, Why sell now? It’s going higher.
Then Bitcoin corrects. Altcoins dump 60%. Suddenly, that unrealized profit is gone.
Lesson? You don’t go broke taking profits. It’s crucial to have an exit strategy. Set targets, take some off, and let the rest ride if you believe in it long-term. Securing profits along the way is just smart investing.
2. Altcoin Roulette: Refusing To Cut Losses
I’ll just be blunt. Bitcoin might survive anything, but most altcoins won’t.
On average, there were 5000 coins launched per day in 2024. Most people have probably not heard of over 95% of them. They don’t last. Most of them are scams or rugs.
Yet a ton of people get attached to their alts.
I get it, though. Altcoins are exciting. They offer the potential for crazy returns. But they’re also incredibly volatile.
Many investors jump into alt-coins because of a video they watch on YouTube or a post they see on X. They don’t do any proper research and hope for it to be their “moonshot.”
There’s no real gameplan for when to exit or when to take profits.
If price goes against you, when do you cut your losses? Do you even have your risk defined?
In trading and investing, you cannot make money if you don’t have money to begin with. But people refuse to protect their capital.
Instead, they end up losing it.
3. The Abyss: Over-Leveraging Your Trades
Leverage can make you rich or wipe you out. For most traders, it’s the latter.
Most traders see trading as a get-rich-quick scheme and end up making impulsive decisions. Their emotions dominate and they get caught up taking large position sizes or revenge trading.
It’s tempting — 20x leverage makes a small move look like a jackpot. But it also means one small dip liquidates your position.
Traders don’t know how to position size correctly.
What’s worse is once they lose, they usually double down because they want to make back their losses. This cycle only serves to blow accounts and cost you money.
The cryptocurrency market is a brutal one. Every cycle shakes out the weak hands. While it may seem that the cycle is over, it likely isn’t.
With mass institutional adoption taking place, Bitcoin is set for bigger and better things. And believe it or not, altcoins will follow. Especially the big ones.
However, this isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. Learn from the mistakes above. Good things take time.
None of the information given above is meant to be financial advice. Any and all content presented above is made available solely for educational and informational purposes. Financial markets carry significant risks, and it is important to do your own research before choosing to take any action.
For more updates, follow me on X (formerly Twitter) here and my free telegram here!
Three Reasons Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Traders Lost This Cycle was originally published in The Capital on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
from The Capital - Medium https://ift.tt/BoFNWRZ
0 Comments