Bitcoin's Price is Down? A Tortoise's Dream
Slow and steady wins the race
When people talk about “the next leg up” for bitcoin’s bull market, it’s hard to see how prices can rise if new money isn’t coming into the market.
That’s quite a problem because new money isn’t coming into the market yet, at least not in enough size to move prices for long.
If history repeats itself, that new money will come. Bitcoin’s price just needs to go up long enough for people to think it will keep going up. Altcoins will follow. Everything will work out.
I can understand if that’s not your pace. It’s been three months since the last all-time high! Waiting sucks.
For me, that’s ok. I’m a tortoise.
Slow and steady wins the race
Some people love the excitement of trading the market and the thrill of seeing their portfolio pump. They laugh about the rug-pulls and scams, FOMO into whatever altcoin’s making the rounds of Twitter and Reddit, and have no problem with the massive risks that come with buying into the parabolic upswings.
I’m ok with the slow life. I’d rather take it easy. I know where this road leads. My portfolio will grow over time—and do so at a pace that will far exceed any other investment I can make right now.
Up a lot, down a lot, and always up higher than down.
Very boring and the opposite of the apes and degens, but I’m trying to build wealth through ownership of cryptocurrency. That’s hard to do during the parabolic booms.
Am I excited about buying crypto now?
No.
I’m excited about its potential and lots of awesome projects building the financial networks of the future.
The problem is, to get the best results in this market, you have to buy now. You can’t wait for the market to start booming and zooming again, nor can you wait for “one last drop” that may never come.
Buy low and let the market grow
Nobody went broke buying bitcoin after the market crashed. You get while the getting’s good, then HODL on the way up and wait for the next opportunity to buy more. Meanwhile, you can spend, save, or borrow against your bitcoin.
It’s slow money, for sure—but slow money is easy money.
When long positions get liquidated or traders sell low to buy lower, we accumulate.
When casual “investors” decide they’ve made or lost enough money and it’s time to sell “before it goes to zero,” we take those worries off of their shoulders.
While influencers and their followers wait for confirmation of an uptrend, we’re already way ahead of them.
Not fun, but necessary
Still, it feels like shit.
Everybody else offers you milkshakes and a LaZboy. Buy this altcoin in August and MOON! Bitcoin’s price can ONLY GO UP! Trade with 20x leverage—instant money!
I’m selling healthy foods and exercise. I want durable, long-term wealth. 50% ups and downs are part of the journey.
If you subscribed to Crypto is Easy for long enough, you may remember I mentioned that I keep a dollar of USDC, USDT, or short-term US treasuries for every dollar I put into crypto. When bitcoin’s price goes above the buying zone of my plan, I set aside new cash for the next buying opportunity.
It’s easy in one sense: you spend most of your time doing nothing and watching the value of your investments go up.
It’s hard in another sense: you have to buy when it seems like everybody else is selling and the price keeps going down (seemingly without pause).
There are times when I don’t like being a tortoise in a hare’s world. Nobody can make all the right decisions all of the time, you can only put the odds in your favor and accept that the markets will decide your fate. In the end, things work out.
We already won the race
Anybody who owns bitcoin will come out way ahead over time. Some altcoins will do just as well.
As long as you stick with it. Don’t quit a marathon after the third mile.
Once the hares have worn themselves out and have no more money to buy crypto, you get to keep chugging along. We know how the story goes. The tortoise wins.
Those hares?
Maybe, maybe not.
Mark Helfman publishes the Crypto is Easy newsletter. He is also the author of three books and a top bitcoin writer on Medium and Hacker Noon. Learn more about him in his bio.
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I guess I'm a tortoise too. In fact, when I first got into the crypto world, I was trying to grow my money quickly by trading. But after a while I realized that this was more of a loss than a profit. It didn't take me long to realize my mistake, so I feel lucky. People who do not understand these things have done the same as me, but I think they have turned from their mistakes.
Now, as a tortoise, I care about the project. I have no intention of making quick money. There is a high probability that the money that is earned quickly will turn into money that is lost quickly. :) The first thing to do is to be patient.
I also wrote in one of the previous articles, I think it was Ruma's portfolio article. MacaronSwap is a project that makes me feel safe in this regard. And I'm talking about the money a tortoise can earn in the slowest but safest way. I think, of course.
The staking system gives me a certain amount every day, based on the amount of coins I have. So I think it is very safe. Even though the price has dropped 2x, I'm not really upset.
This and similar projects make a lot of sense for "a tortoise".
Thanks for the article, Mark. It was very enjoyable.
My strategy is similar to yours.
I take it from the bottom and if it falls, I make calculations and find my own inferences, so I can get it again at a lower resistance, depending on the course of the situation.
Thus, I think that I can lower my loss average and get more profit in the long run.
Patience is the key.
It's like a balance game, you either choose to feed the big fish, sell by listening to the FUDs and add some more money to their coffers, or you learn to act with them and try to understand the market.