After three years chasing influencer signals, buying AI bot subscriptions, and manually DCAing into coins. This what I understood:
Telegram signals: I’ve lost a lot of money in that, especially during the worst crypto winter in 2021, when scams and bear runs were at their peak. I tried VIP Telegram group signals in hope a hope they know the calls. They all talk like they see the future: “Enter now.” SL is tight. Target 2x, etc. To tell you the truth, it does not work, or else everyone would have been making money. Lost more than I made. Really started to think it was a pump & dump. Made me realized if you don’t know what you’re trading for, you're taking the exit liquidity.
DCA strategy: Next strategy I chose dollar-cost averaging BTC, ETH, and popular altcoins weekly. While the market was in a bull run, I had some good run like when Luna touched $1. But one major market shift during the LUNA and FTX scam made that DCA strategy completely useless. When things went down, I just bought. Only to sold in much lower price and there was no market pump. Never able to figure what's the exact price I should target for DCA.
AI trading bots; I heard they will make my trading pain easier. So, I tested tried four AI trading bots. The first one, 3Commas, is considered the best one for professionals and experienced traders. Put in $500, made it like $20+/month, that is 4% return, I guess. Well, it didn't live up to its hype. Then the 2nd one I used was Bitsgap. Here I invested $400, and it made me $6+ in a month i.e about 1.5%. This one mainly did arbitrage and grid trading stuff. But here I was making more in airdrop hunting.
Next was Terarium, I invested $400 and generated $20+/month close to a 5% return. Luckily, I got a beta invite, so no subscription fee. Connecting it with an API was scary in the beginning because my wallet was at stake, but no major setup was needed. Their robo-advisor manages my portfolio on its own and adjusts itself according to the market situation. It is still in beta testing right now. Then at last, Pionex invested $400 and made around $10+/month, a return of roughly 2.5%. Their bot buys and sells trailing orders on my behalf and le me go AFK, but its lack of advanced AI customization limits its appeal for professional traders.
I’ve lost my money but learned a lot tbh. Crypto signals felt like a scam; the DCA was good in the bull run, but one hard shift, and you are done, and the AI trading bot is not sure in the long run. Finding out what works for you in the long run without being full-time is a real challenge. So what’s working for you? anything that helps you to get a consistent return.