As you can tell from the inspirational title, I've got noting to say but am seriously contemplating something: Is it time for me to quit putting new money into crypto?

The short answer is yes. I've decided that 2023 will be the last year I'll be putting new money into Bitcoin. This idea didn't come falling from the skies, I've been semi-doing it the past year already and the reason I didn't completely quit doing it two years ago was specifically because of the crash opportunities. To put it bluntly, I didn't believe for a second that the crashes the past two years were anything significant Bitcoin would not recover from. Glad to say I was right but it did not come without increased risk.

I don't have a crystal ball, if I put in new money that means my already current holdings, which are mainly profits, will be at greater risk because not only am I not cashing them out, I'm actually adding to it. Remember when two years ago Musk mumbled something about Tesla and Bitcoin and the price crashed like 25% in 3 days? Yeah, I didn't give a fluke about his statement and took the Bitcoin buying opportunity, which in less than five month recovered and even broke the previous ATH.

These are the type of things I will quit doing come 2024. Unless of course there is some illuminati highly occult tip off I'll be informed about where I will 100% be sure of profits. But since the chances of that are slim I'll be focusing on defending my holdings, i.e. convert crypto to fiat as little as possible since that money will not be coming back. So the days of +1K Euro deposits and purchases will officially come to an end. Why? I just feel that after all the risks I took to get to where I am, it's time to start playing it safe and slowly but surely add more crypto to my bags by staking, earning or trading Bitcoin via other crypto holdings, or as I like to call it; Bitcoin cost average.

That Tesla/Bitcoin crash example was indeed a good bet, but what if it was a misdirection? What if these people count on the masses taking the bait while they are planning something much more devious? I know it sounds paranoid, but these people did not get to the position they are by revealing their hands and allowing you to be one step ahead of them. If someone like that were to crash your holdings by cashing out themselves, they would go about it in batches in order to maximize profits. How? Create some stupid made up false narrative like I will quit accepting Bitcoin as payment as they are selling themselves from anonymous/third party holdings, watch the markets crash, watch as many shrug it off and "buy the dip", and then maximize their profits by dumping another batch on the recovered market.

This conniving is actually a lot more common than many think. When it comes to money, they will break a lot of boundaries and yes also laws in order to give themselves the edge. There was this professional tennis player who a few years ago got caught after authorities noticed huge bets often winning on his games. The player and his partner(s) didn't go about it in a stupid way either, it was on bets that were very subtle like total games over 21 or will there be more than 10 double faults in the match (etc). The opponent also contributed to this factor thus making the cheating player's involvement more subtle. But after noticing the winning whale bets, all the authorities then had to do was follow the money. They put every game of this player under a microscope, linked the large winning bet with the match and closely watched his every move. Soon enough, patterns started to emerge and after they also discovered several large payments had indirectly been made to him they had enough evidence to approach him after which he admitted he indeed was involved in match fixing. The bookies and gambling sites got a large portion of their money back after authorities confiscated it, but you know who didn't? The masses, those that bet on his games and lost. No one approached them to say "hey, you lost money on a fixed game, here's all your lost money back."

Again, I know it sounds more paranoid than sound investing, but I can't help but think that with the ETF and all around the corner, times are changing and I do not want to be caught having more into Bitcoin than I can afford. Yeah, I've actually done that many times the past years. I didn't ever lend money or get into debt or anything like that, but there was a time in 2019 where I on average had less than 100 Euros left in my account every month. I literally went all in on Bitcoin and a few alts back then and I don't mean like those cringetubers' definition of "hey guys, I found this great new altcoin and I myself am all in" and then the next day they reveal they have like 100K in stablecoins. No I really mean all in, back then I had 99% of my total net worth in crypto and precious metals without holding a single stablecoin. So I guess the crazy times are coming to an end and it's slow and steady from here on out.