A Young Trader’s Journey from $10K to $25M and Back to Zero: Learning from Crypto Fear & Greed

As is expectedly usual with the highly ‘hot’ cryptocurrency market—once dubbed the “wild West”—fortunes can be made overnight and just as quickly lost. This is the story of an anonymous trader who invested in Safemoon, a cryptocurrency that was launched in March 2021. He was just 18 years old when he made an initial investment of $10,000. Within a short span, his investment swelled to a staggering $25 million, making him one of the top 5 holders of Safemoon. However, this story doesn’t have a happy ending.

Fear and Greed: When’s the Best Time to Take Profit?

The young trader watched his fortune dwindle to $1 million before he decided to sell. But the losses didn’t stop there. He began revenge trading, a dangerous practice where traders make hasty decisions in an attempt to recover their losses. Unfortunately, this only led to further losses until he had nothing left.

3 years later it still haunts me every single day. pic.twitter.com/UVHaK1wnEi

— Coinfessions (@coinfessions) July 23, 2024

Years later, the trader is still in agony of his losses. “3 years later, it still haunts me every single day,” he recounted. He spent countless hours fixated on the chart, praying for a recovery that never came, according to his X post. This is a common sentiment among many who have lost money in the volatile crypto market. The trader said, “It never did, and they never do.“

A reply to his post by a user named Hansum offers some harsh but valuable advice. Hansum questions the wisdom of holding onto an investment that has already grown 2500 times in value without selling even a tiny bit for profit. He argues that no 18-year-old who started with $10,000 would hold it to $25 million just to watch it go to zero, not even in the crypto world.

Hansum’s advice is clear, which is what you need to pay close attention to: there is no point in holding onto an investment any longer. It would be wise to sell at least 50% and let the rest do its thing. This strategy, often called “taking profits,” allows investors to secure a portion of their gains while still leaving some investment in play for potential future growth.

As the saying goes, “Bulls make money, bears make money, but pigs get slaughtered.”

So, while the potential for high returns in the crypto biz can be tempting, it’s in your best interest to remember the volatility of the market and the importance of taking profits when you can so, alas, you don’t “get slaughtered.”