Looking back, I remember when I first stepped into crypto. It was 2020, and Bitcoin was starting its climb after the COVID crash. I felt like I'd completely missed the boat on BTC – that train had left the station, and I was standing on the platform watching the tail lights disappear.

So what did I do? I started accumulating the "silver to Bitcoin's gold" – Litecoin (LTC) – and the "real vision of Satoshi" – Bitcoin Cash (BCH). They were cheaper, had similar technology (or so I thought), and surely would follow Bitcoin's path upward, right?

Man, was I wrong.

While BTC continued its journey to six figures despite all the volatility and bear markets, these forks have basically withered on the vine. I had such expectations for them, thinking they'd eventually catch up to Bitcoin's growth trajectory. But reality had other plans.

I ended up selling my LTC after finding out that Charlie Lee, the cofounder, had dumped all his coins. That was a major red flag – if the creator doesn't even believe in his own project enough to hold, why should I?

And BCH? I had serious concerns about the mining network sustainability. As fewer miners supported it, the security became questionable, and the whole "big block" narrative just never materialized into actual adoption. The mining rewards kept decreasing while BTC's network stayed strong.

Fortunately, since I got in during 2020 when prices were relatively low, I didn't get completely rekt like those who bought during the 2017 peak. Still, watching these supposed "Bitcoin alternatives" fade into irrelevance while BTC continues to shine has been a humbling lesson.

Should have just swallowed my pride and bought "expensive" BTC instead. These forks promised so much but delivered so little.

Anyone else make the same mistake, or was I the only one drinking that particular flavor of Kool-Aid?