For various reasons (some of which I'm unaware, no doubt, not following events too closely), 2022 has been a bad year for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and many other cryptocurrencies. The fall really began in November of 2021 and has pretty much continued to plummet since then, with only a couple of brief hold-out points in the first quarter of the year. At the time I write this (2022-08-27), it has fallen by as much as 5.5% in twenty-four (24) hours, bringing the price down to near what it was in December 2017 (~$20 000 USD) and in June earlier this year. (It's not as low as it went in July/August 2019 and 2020, but it's still a big drop.)

Now, I don't know for sure what has caused this recent drop (but I suspect the massive loss that hit the stock market is at least partially responsible), or how much further it's going to fall. (For all I know, it might go to 19K; it might even go as low as 9K, if it continues to follow the stock market losses. I hope not.) What I do know is that such major dips are not uncommon, since they tend to coincide with the years in which halving events (when it becomes more difficult to mine blocks) occur. The other thing I know is that Bitcoin always recovers (yes, always), even if it takes a few to several months.

Newbies will no doubt be panicking and dumping their crypto amid yet more claims of "[Insert name of crypto here] is dead!" (Doge is probably plummeting, like a lapdog unexpectedly pushed off a sofa, as I type.) However, the experienced among us will know that what this really is, is an opportunity to buy at discount low prices and then HODL until the next big peak is hit (or until I'm on my death bed; whichever comes first). That is exactly what I intend to do, having come into a small amount of money that I don't immediately need. (Sure, it would be nice for my bank account to go back to black, but it'll just go red again quickly, as it always does. I'd rather have some funds that are mine and mine alone, with an actual chance of significant growth, than watch it go to other people in short order.)

BTC All-time price chart copyright CoinMarketCap (CMC)

Since I missed out on getting Bitcoin before it first went big (2016/17), then when I became aware of it and had another opportunity (2018/19), I have (hopefully) learned my lesson and am not going to miss out on a golden opportunity the third time around. (The third time's the charm, apparently.) Even if it means I have to scrape by on barely anything for another few months (which I have been doing for a couple of years, anyway), I am determined to make a go of it. It's about time my ship came in and I want to make sure there's enough water and champagne to go around when it does. Besides, Project Babylon (being able to pay $100 USD worth of crypto each to everyone who has helped me through tough times these past two years) has been little more than a pipe dream of mine and I'd really like to get it off the ground, up and going. The $100 worth of Solana (SOL) that I staked six to eight months ago isn't growing as fast as I hoped that it would. (It just goes to show that past performance is definitely not an indicator of future growth.)

There's still a long way to go (and the odds are heavily stacked against me), but this could well be the fresh start I need in order to prepare for the day when I can unbank myself and go full crypto, not have to farm fiat ever again if I don't want to. (I really don't want to, but that's not yet an option for me.)

I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, because I don't know what the future holds, but I'm not going to sit around hoping for the best when I can take action to steer my future in the right direction. Do what the whales do: Strike while the iron is hot; acquire some (more) Bitcoin and Ethereum while you still can. The market moves quickly, so don't stop to weigh up the pros and cons. Trust me on this, because you'll regret it if you don't.

Thumbnail Image: Year to Date (YTD) price chart for Bitcoin (BTC), 2022, copyright CoinMarketCap (CMC)