Tough life of a crypto trader: Sad stories of holders about their path from bottom to ATH to now

November 20, 2018

Now that we finally got chased out of the stagnation and bitcoin fell significantly in only 10 days, holders are crawling out and whine with melancholy about the money they once “had” as crypto was in the delirium of last year end. I put “had” in quotes as those were numbers on the screen of some portfolio app and not “real” money as rarely any of the holders cashed out, greed to grab even more thousands of easy bucks was stronger and cost them a lot of anxiety and hair pulling all the way to the current lows.

From 410k to 60k

“My ATH was a little over 410k. Right now I have 60k and I’ve catching the falling knife for the last 11 months. I’ve never so depressed in my life. I wanted to avoid short term taxed that is why I held. My total $ invested is a little over 100k. That is life savings, life’s stocks, lines of credit, everything. I am a brink away from screaming my lungs out and and fall into a nervous breakdown. Please save the “don’t invest more than what you can afford to lose” for another time. I make 40k a year, it will take me over a decade to replace what I’ve lost.”

Couple of guys responded to him with his stories – one of them invest 27k and now has just above $7k.

In crypto for 5 years, still up but profits are thinner by day

“I been in Crypto since the last big 13′-14′ Crypto bubble. This one is even worse. I did not think it could ever get any worse than that one. Almost 5 years in the game now & my profits are in collapse. Still up but I am fading fast. I held most of my positions during the peak & starting re-buying ETH heavily around $400 thinking there’s no way $120 would ever be hit unless total protocol failure. I am not going to comment on the amount I had on paper. If I even think too much about it I’ll become very depressed. I will not sell just like in the 14′ crash. I waited too long to start panic selling now. For me it’s all the way or nothing at all I guess. I am still in disbelief ATM. Fundamentals are vastly accelerating. To have prices this low makes no sense but nothing in Crypto really ever makes sense at least since May of 2017 when the hype really started. My target is still $5000 ETH into 2020 which is only starting about 1 year away. These prices are absolutely a steal for anyone now just entering Crypto.”

From $2k to $360k, back to $8k

ATH was around 360k usd. Total investment was 2k usd. Took out 30k along the way. Crypto balance now 8k. Still profit, but also could had much more.

There are some smart guys among crypto buyers as well, like this guy (he was asked what was his ATH as he previously mentioned he still has around $150k):

“1.6MM, but I cashed out a lot on the way up and down.

If I had cashed out all 1.6MM at the ATH (assuming I had a time machine or a crystal ball), I would have had to pay more than 50% in taxes. The amount I’ve taken out so far, while less than 800k, isn’t THAT far from it when tax strategy is included. And I started with 35k…

I’m here to win guys. I got into crypto because I was a greedy asshole, but since being in this world I’ve come to understand why tech nerds gushed over it when it was worth nothing. It really can change the world for the better, and I’m all about that.”

In the end, it all comes down to good and poor judgement calls and general personality profile of every trader. Some people are naturally more cautious and made sure to partially sell while in plus (which is the best strategy in my mind as well) while others were drunk with greed and wanted to set themselves for life with couple of months of pure gambling (investing in ICOs and small cap altcoins is nothing short of gambling). Whatever category you fit, man up and live with your decisions and consequences that they leave behind. And make this a learning lesson for the future because crypto is not going anywhere (but shitcoins are done for good)