In response to @meesterboom's post on crypto trading I got somewhat inclined to write a little post of mine on the same subject. One could say he is my muse!!
[awwwwwwww]
It starts with a 0.smth btc in your wallet. How did you get it, does not matter but it's probably from steemit or a goodwill friend. Usually the wallet will tell you how much is worth in fiat [ which is what we crypto traders calls "normal money" you plebes! ]. My preferred fiat is the good ol' $ but anyway, you know how such a minuscule amount of btc that is...surprisingly...quite a few fiats. You are a greedy one though so naturally you want more. But how?
This trading looks easy! Why not buy some other coins - that's what some people call "alts" but some smart people call " shitcoins" , and really, you calling them alts is a pretty good sign you have no clue which of those alts are shitcoins so you have a big chance of buying a shitcoin...But just how many "alts" are out there?
There's a very nice answer to this that sounds liek bullshit but it's true: 694
So you look at some charts on bittrex and decide that, yes, this alt sounds interesting and you'll buy it and sell it when it goes up, because it will go up, right? You know it, someone in the trollbox of an exchange, or on steemit, or in the chat said it will. Who knows, maybe you dreamed it.
Buy
Now...you wait to get rich. This is where tragedy commence, because no matter what happens, YOU will not get rich..what's worse, no matter the outcome, you won't even be happy. No, my friend, you are about to feel very very stupid. Here's what happens. Let's play a game:
A. You buy and hold and hold. The graph looks like a flat line so you don't do much....then it goes up!! wow, you could sell now for a profit of 0.05btc. That's amazing. It's only been 5 minutes and you made 5$. Maybe you should wait some more?
You wait more, it goes up and up and up. Sell now?
1a. yes: profit! --> it goes up some more, you sold too fast, you made a little profit but could ahve been huge. SUCKER!!!
1b. no: hold to the mooon! --> don't kid yourself, your gonads are not big enough to hold to the moon, go back to 1a: SUCKER!!
Lesson: you will never have the balls necessarily to hold enough for the big profit, you'll always sell to quick. But that's good because when the coin will inevitably fall to nothing....you'll feel like a very smart and inspired trader.
Here's the sad thing: in order for you tobe smart, a whole currency must DIE. How fucked up is that?
People talk in crypto about FOMO a lot. Fear of Missing Out. That's a very nice acronym and I like that it is so general, all our life is a race against FOMO. And all our life is long lesson in accepting that FOMO will fuck you up if you let it. Trading will teach this lesson by taking your money. That's a pretty efficient way to do it.
So FOMO seems like a very abstract concept when you're looking at a graph from the past...ah, what you would have done! Buy at this low point, sell at the highest, make huge profit and then buy back all the coins and keep the profit and REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT until you're RICH. There's a really nice certitude that looking into the past gives you: so easy to be smart.
But, alas, trading must be done with an eye to the future, that is to the unknown. The more unknow, the higher the stakes, the more FOMO starts to take hold of you, your soul, your life and ultimately your mouse.
When the future seems to resist molding to your will, you lose some money than you sell and grunt and feel stupid.
When the future seems to be on your side, you sell, make a little profit and feel smart, until you see the whole graph..then you feel stupid again.
Trading crypto...damned if you sell, damned if you buy...unhappy if you lose, depressing if you win.
Remember kids: all crypto is scam.
R out.