This is my first post here, and since the main reason that I found steemit was due to me being involved in cryptocurrency trading I would like to share my story in the last month or so.
I wasn't sceptical nor was I afraid of the cryptocurrency landscape, I was just unaware of the potential. A very respected mentor of mine got into cryptocurrency trading and convinced me that it was worth exploring (I read an article a week ago that said that the psychological barrier preventing people from entering the crypto world is usually overcome when they realise that someone they respect in terms of intelligence is interested in this space and arrive at the conclusion that surely someone like that can't be stupid enough to fall for this if it is a scam).
Thus my journey began, as an uninformed newbie that wanted to jump right in, I learnt some very hard lessons:
Yobit is not a safe place to trade for newbies
Yobit was the first exchange I entered, I got excited by the visually satisfying pump and dump campaigns and I lost quite a lot of my first investment. I was even crazy enough to believe some of the info posted in the trollbox (Really stupid, I know!). Even though there were crazy negative moments, I'm glad I learnt those hard lessons with my small initial investments. Now I only go to yobit for arbitrage opportunities (that is if their wallets are working)
Buy Low, Sell High
The next big lesson I learnt is kind of meant to be a basic rule, but I found myself getting hyped by the increases in a coin and deciding to get on the train whilst the pump is in full swing. Sometimes I made a small profit but mostly I ended up running a loss and that leads to my next lesson.
Be Patient, But also Decisive
I constantly sold my bad performing coins at a loss and after a short while I would see it at a high point and get so angry (patience is not a strong point for me) . I learnt that these markets while always have an element of volatility and I should ride the storm and wait.
At the same time, waiting too long for a coin to grow again can be a bad decision. If an opportunity to make a profit is on the horizon, cut your losses and try the new opportunity if you think it is worth it. There's a risk in both approaches, the key is to make an educated decision, not an impulsive one.
Back Coins With An Actual Offering
I've bought coins that have no intrinsic value apart from being traded and there are coins like this that can make you a quick profit (you get it right, cool for you). What I have come to realise is that buying coins with actual products and uses for their coins are much better investments. At this moment I am holding a decent amount of 4-5 coins I believe in. Yes, the prices rise and fall regularly but what I've noticed is that the values stabilise in a positive direction more often than not. Besides look at steemit, why wouldn't you want to hold a coin that underlies a product that delivers something like this to the world?
If the bitcoin price drops, relax!
When the bitcoin price reaches $2900, I got bitten by the newbie bug and bought way too high. Literally 5 minutes after I bought it well to $2500 or so and continued to fall. I kept seeing articles where people laughed. So I continued to read blogs and posts and felt a little at ease. A week after and the markets seem settled and my coins started growing again, the crash provided me with the golden opportunity to buy some good coins at really cheap prices. Bitcoin fluctuates, get used to it, but I'm optimistic that Bitcoin will reach the heights that most people expect it to. It'll just take time, not a 1 month shoot up like we saw.
These are some lessons I learnt in the last month. To the veteran cryptotraders, my views might be naive but hey, I'm learning! Advice is always appreciated! To my fellow newbies, I hope this helps you miss some of the traps I fell in.
Overall, these lessons helped me become more educated and a better trader. At the moment I have recovered my early losses and I hold some coins that I believe have great long term potential.
If you agree with my views, or like the post then a resteem or upvote will be appreciated. Also comment and share your experiences as a noob. You might just save someone from an unfortunate situation!