That wonderful expression, "in the Doldrums", is a real killer for me in crypto.
The Doldrums are the places near the equator where winds meet and form confusing dead spots that were a severe hazard for sailors before we had powered ships. When they relied on wind in their sails to move anywhere, an extended calm could not only cause trouble because of boredom, but put serious pressure on food supplies and so on (or, if you've seen Master and Commander, they're somewhere to dump a Jonah). The Doldrums are also a place in one of my favourite childhood books, The Phantom Tollbooth. 😁
In many ways, sideways movement is positive for trading.
There's a nicely defined zone in which to expect movement.
But quite frankly? It's boring as fuck.
And that's where I suffer. That feeling of "I should be trading", the need to be doing something, even if it's a bad idea.
I start thinking about making changes I should avoid.
So when the markets sit quietly, doing their thing in the Doldrums, I have to find something else to focus on.
That's where dual investment is useful (again): like spot trading, I'm looking for a ceiling or floor from where to work out stepping in. But unlike spot trading, I'm looking for a price increment - $25 steps in ETH at the moment - and waiting to get a really good APY when I've figured out my buy-in price (or sell price if it's that way around).
Right now, for example, I'm splitting my dual investment trading fund into my frequent up/down halves.
I'm holding USDT, so with ETH on the rise, but once again running sideways at its current level, I'm looking for the "up" part.
A reasonable level to buy in, in case the rise continues and I can pick up a nice 1%+ profit.
With things how they are today, that's either $2,300 or $2,325 (the latter right now).
I keep myself busy with regular monitoring and wait to grab a 200%+ APY for stepping in at the right moment. That'll be $5-$10 earned, regardless of whether the buy happens.
The other half of the USDT goes back into flexible savings. Two reasons for that: first, it stops me fiddling with it and second, it earns maybe $0.20 while I wait for tomorrow, to see if prices drop back to around $2,100 or lower (which I would consider a low point for a "down" buy).
Do the Doldrums get to you, too? How do you survive them? I'd love to hear your strategies.
