Investing is actually a high-threshold industry, but you only need a mobile phone/computer, a phone number, and an ID card to enter the CEX cryptocurrency trading market. However, this does not mean that you will make money. The cryptocurrency market is ultimately composed of people, and human greed, anger, ignorance, sloth, and doubt are all expressed vividly here.
01 About gambling and altcoins, playing with altcoins is gambling, holding onto Bitcoin is the right path. This is currently a bizarre viewpoint in the market; dollar-cost averaging into Bitcoin is highly recommended by many big names. However, which of these big names did not have a history involving altcoins, even CX coins? Listening to big names promoting dollar-cost averaging into Bitcoin and then blindly following that path—doesn't this count as gambling?
Whether it's gambling or not, the fundamental gambler's mindset lies in ignoring the current trend and operating based on their own greed and fear.
For many people, the crypto space is simply a large casino. In the A-share market, many also regard it as a casino. Viewing the market and the crypto space with this mindset, those individuals should not be here; wouldn't it be better to go to Macau for some fun? Viewing the market through a gambling lens inevitably leads to a tragic outcome. The moment you step into the market with a gambler's mindset, you are already entangled in the web of karma, and a tragic ending is predetermined; no matter how you engage, it's a gamble with your life.
Returning to Bitcoin and altcoins, there are always people who belittle the altcoin community as worthless. Without the initial altcoin Ethereum, could Bitcoin have achieved its current success? Bitcoin, as the pioneer, and later altcoins have a symbiotic and complementary relationship rather than a competitive one. Bitcoin alone cannot fully unleash the potential of blockchain; it needs altcoins to extend and expand. Comparatively, for ordinary investors, high-quality altcoins may be a better choice because they have relatively higher odds.
However, one basic fact is that in the long run, few altcoins can outperform Bitcoin. Of course, in any market or era, the ones who become legends are always a small handful.
02 About contracts and technical analysis
Like altcoins, contracts are also a dangerous beast; futures contracts in the crypto space are essentially a casino. I had never engaged with contracts before, and the external voices suggested that trading contracts was just giving away money, with various cases of total loss being reported, leading to a huge misunderstanding of contracts. It wasn't until I started engaging with contracts at the beginning of this year that I realized they are a great tool.
The main reason contracts are criticized is due to liquidation, which solely depends on the individual. I only invest a small part of my total capital in contracts, dividing the contract capital into 10 portions for operation, and I always set stop losses for each trade. Although I haven't made a profit, I've played hundreds of rounds without facing liquidation. Most people trade without a trading system; for instance, when the market moves against them, they have no stop-loss mechanism. On the contrary, they may think that a reversal will happen soon. If it doesn't blow up, who will? Contracts, as a tool, are neither good nor bad; it all depends on the user. Because of my engagement with contracts, I had to delve into technical analysis. Like everyone else, I previously thought technical analysis was just nonsense, a hindsight perspective. It remained that way until I got involved and realized it was not the case; technical analysis is not about making predictions; that would be a charlatan's approach.
The essence of technical analysis:
There are too many factors affecting prices in the market; you don’t know which factor holds the most weight. However, all technical analysis is essentially a translator because it leads to a definitive result: the price. Technical analysis describes what is happening in the market through price, which is the value of technical analysis—it is a language that people can understand.
The biggest change that technical analysis has brought me is knowing how to avoid risks. For example, I recently bought an IEO coin that surged nearly 8 times. In the past, I would either sell at a high point out of fear and miss out on later significant profits or hold on after reaching the peak, becoming trapped. Now, this coin has already dropped by half. This time, I used a simple long-short moving average system and found that the coin had shifted from a bullish market to a bearish market on a larger scale, indicating significant downside risk. I sold in time and preserved the majority of my profits.
People are easily influenced by external voices, leading them to reject or favor something they have never understood. This is a problem that must be changed.
03 About greed and fear: being happy for external things and sad for oneself. When prices rise, it's a revolution; when they fall, it's a scam. Emotions are always the biggest obstacle on your investment journey because they disrupt your trading plans. Many people indeed have trading plans; when their predetermined selling point appears, they sell promptly, and when their buying point appears, they buy. However, with the addition of emotions, the results often go against this.
For instance, during the crash on March 12, many people said that their trading systems had already signaled a sell before March 12. However, due to the market's fervor and endless anticipation for Bitcoin halving, they did not want to miss the major halving event. Greed took over completely, and March 12 became the greatest retribution; boundless joy turned into infinite sorrow.
No market movement is worth fearing or being surprised by. If you still feel fear or surprise about any movement, it indicates that you are still controlled by emotions. You should continue to hone your skills in the current movement, allowing all fear and surprise to dissipate. How to eliminate greed and fear? One common method is to be continuously cleansed by the market; here, I have a better and convenient method—the Zen approach to contemplation.
I consider myself a half-hearted Zen enthusiast, sitting daily and contemplating the question 'Who is chanting the Buddha’s name?' Yet, I suspect and ponder, who exactly is chanting? This is the essence of contemplation. This method can also be applied to various thoughts, such as 'Who is initiating the greed?' If you pursue this line of questioning, you will soon have a question: where does this thought originate? At this stage, the greed has already dissipated. The same reasoning applies to 'Who is fearful?' and 'Who is happy?' etc.
04 Summary
People are easily disturbed by external factors and may irrationally reject or favor something they have never understood. Emotionally, they can easily develop biases based on the fluctuations of K-lines. The true voice of the market is always in the present.
Investing is very similar to cultivation; through various methods, one refines their character and clears the fog to understand the truth. Investing is a form of cultivation, and on the path of cultivation, your only enemy is yourself.
Opportunities are reserved for the prepared!
Only by seizing opportunities can you succeed!
What are you still hesitating about!
