As I write this Bitcoin is slightly recovering from dipping to $5,750 and now is about $6,150. From the research and market sentiment I've been reviewing, the price will likely drop and I'm waiting for it to create some kind of support before I add at all to my positions despite the attractive prices there are now.
I entered this market in February and have watched my holdings decline by 50% since I entered. My strategy is evolving and changing as I spend more time in this market and as I experience more ups and downs. Mostly downs it seems! I really am not concerned about it being down as I don't view my investment as a short term one. Or perhaps I don't have enough money invested and therefore I'm not losing sleep at night. If you are an active investor, you might be familiar with Morpheus Network, a shipping and distribution project that has lot's of promise and potential. A couple of days ago, someone hacked their code and started flooding the market with fraudulent MORPH coins (their coin). They have successfully halted trading on all but one exchange (HITBTC), and the coin price has gone from around $0.50 all the way down to $0.01 and was last around $0.10 when I looked earlier today. Morpheus Network intends to issue a new coin called MRPH which will be issued to existing holders using a snapshot dated prior to the hack. They have yet to determine what date/time will be used for the snapshot and are saying on their telegram channel that they will handle investors who purchased fraudulent coins on HITBTC on a "case by case" basis. That sounds daunting to say the least.
Then there is EOS which launched it's MainNet, only to halt it due to a bug, and then it reopened. If anyone reading this voted for the 21 block producers (15% of coin holders needed to vote prior to the MainNet launching), you know how completely user UNFRIENDLY the voting process was/is. Suffice it to say, EOS is rough when it comes to the user interface for the general public. I've only succeeded in registering my ERC wallet to the EOS blockchain, in voting and in using scatter. I still don't understand Scatter very well and am not sure if it serves as a wallet or just as an interface with the EOS blockchain. My experience with EOS is that we are a long way away from average users being a part of this space. It is far too complex, clunky, unclear and confusing. Until it becomes as simple as scanning your phone to buy a cup of coffee, crypto will be left to the early adopters. To that I say Hurrah! And for the record, I am a big fan of EOS too, despite the challenges posed by the MainNet release.
These experiences have taught me some interesting lessons in crypto investing.
I am invested into crypto for the long term. I am fascinated by the whole space and mesmerized by the possibility it offers in wealth creation as well as world transformation via decentralization. I am utterly compelled by the utopian promises and hopes each project injects into this virtual world. MORPH (or soon to be MRPH) is no exception. I love this project and think it has a solid team, plan, roadmap, etc. The whole hack issue is a fantastic reminder that some of the best ideas in the world end up forgotten and in the rubbish pile of failures and unrealized dreams. No one has a crystal ball and crypto only magnifies this fact.
Even if there is a project I am in love with or believe is the best thing since sliced bread, I, personally, am not going all in on it. Maybe I'll take a bigger position. Maybe. MORPH is a project I've intended to add to and simply haven't. I still may once they hopefully address and resolve their issues. But despite my interest in this project and it's success, my life is not affected by the failure (or success) of it. Same with EOS. I rode it up, and I'm riding it down. Next time I'll take some profits along the way but I'm still learning. The great thing about crypto is it allows me to have some skin in the game. If a project seems to have promise or holds my interest, I can buy some coins and "take ownership" in it. This is empowering. However, I'm not looking to strike it rich on any given project. I fully expect some to do well and others to do poorly. And the MORPH fiasco has underscored the point that while I may see every reason why a project will succeed, I may in fact be wrong. It's nice to be wrong without it devastating me.
Third is to pace myself in this whole thing. Prices now are very attractive, especially compared to what I paid for nearly all the tokens I'm now hodling. A part of me wants to add which will allow me to cost average my position down. Another part of me realizes that I need to be more level headed in holding off until the market seems to establish a bit more predictability. FOMO (fear of missing out) sets in when BTC goes below $6K and I'm beginning to acknowledge and realize this without having to act upon it. I'm starting to realize that preservation of my investment capital is a top priority even if I failed to do this initially with the bulk of my portfolio which I now hold at extreme losses. Again, I'm not concerned about them being down since I intend to remain in these positions for awhile. However, the reality is that had I been more disciplined, I would have exponentially increased my position sizing in being able to buy coins at significantly lower prices than I actually paid. Regardless, now I am working to preserve the little fiat I have into BTC and ETH when the market seems right and I'm working to set stop losses to lock in some gains. I've learned that as the market does recover and as some of my positions improve (as they did on the last upswing), I'll take some money off the table and put it away for adding down the road. Nothing wrong with taking some profits along the way...
Personally, I think it is important to apply some introspection along the way as we ride the roller coaster of this market. It is dominated by BTC and anyone in this market knows it is currently the compass that sets the course for the whole market. Promising projects like EOS, MORPH/MRPH or even ZIL, ONT, or NEO to name a few, must be viewed in the appropriate light. I will continue to diversify and enjoy learning more about each project, even if that learning is due to unfortunate circumstances...