The Bitcoin HODL Mindset

The Bitcoin HODL Mindset

By johnwege | johnwege | 24 Jan 2022


There is fear and uncertainty in the market, have you been able to feel it?

Bitcoin and crypto prices have fallen nearly 50% or more since their all-time highs 3 months ago.  Stocks have recently begun to slide as well.  All of this is based on growing inflation and markets beginning to raise interest rates in hopes of reigning in that inflation.  Add in the fact that governments have begun to restrain themselves from propping up the financial markets like they have the last few years, and confusion about Covid, and that is the perfect recipe for the large dips that we have been seeing.  People are in a state of such fear that they have not only called this the beginning of the next bear run for financial markets, but it could be the start of the greatest world depression we have ever seen.

Truly no one knows what will happen, although I think it's very important that everyone is prudent with their money just in case.  But how does this relate to bitcoin, and how is this a good thing?

Let me first tell you my current opinion of the bitcoin and crypto markets.  I am short-term bearish, long-term very bullish.  Like it or not, bitcoin has been very correlated with the macro markets, and right now those have been in the toilet so to speak. But bitcoin will not stay this way.  Think back to the previous bull run for bitcoin.  How was it thought about then?

Bitcoin was thought as of nothing more than an internet currency where people could gamble and make a lot of money.  Not so far off from what people saw meme coins like this year.  Or even the likes of Gamestop and AMC in the stock market. Now fast-forward to today and just think about how much bitcoin's image has changed, especially in the financial markets.  What was once thought of as a scam or a bubble, is generally now accepted as a store of value asset.  Bitcoin is winning the game. So much so, that an actual country made bitcoin their legal tender.

The toothpaste has been taken out of the bottle, and can not go back in.  People all over the world have woken up to bitcoin's value and use case. That will not stop. In my opinion, the whole covid situation sped up the adoption of bitcoin by at least ten years.  Just two years ago when covid began, none of us would have seen a company like Tesla putting bitcoin on their balance sheet.  Or even more so, an actual country making it legal tender.  Those were things that were supposed to happen 10, 20, or even 30 years later.  But it has happened, and l believe it will keep happening.  I'm extremely bullish on the future of bitcoin.

Even though the price of bitcoin is now down nearly 50% from its all-time of $69k, those of us who have been into bitcoin longer than a year, are still massively up.  So much so, that other people feel like they missed the boat on bitcoin.

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People often think those who have gotten rich from bitcoin and have held onto it are very lucky, that it was easy.  That is false. Just look at the picture above.  Holding isn't easy.  This market will test you mentally unlike anything you have ever gone through before.  Especially as your portfolio size increased.  If you were able to hold onto your coins and not sell, by the time that the next bull cycle begins, you will feel like a wounded soldier.  And your financial mindset will forever change.  While no one wants to go through difficult bear seasons, (and I don't think we are now), the truth is that I think every bitcoiner, and person investing in crypto in general needs to experience it.  I would go so far as to say that you can't call yourself a real bitcoiner, or a crypto veteran until you have gone through your first bear market. It will change you.  You will see things much differently than before.  

Yes during the bull season many coins outperform bitcoin.  But watching some of the biggest altcoins dropping by 99% in a bear cycle will finally show you the light.  Bitcoin will not go up as much as other coins, but when things get ugly, it will not drop as much as others.  During this cycle, I would also claim that Ethereum has been able to join bitcoin in this same category class as well, but no others.  Once you have gone through a full bull and bear market, as I said before, that is when your mindset changes.

That is when you begin to welcome bear markets, and even become excited about them.  Don't misunderstand; I love bear markets the same as everyone.  It is incredibly exhilarating to watch your portfolio grow in value and begin daydreaming about being able to retire.  But once you have survived a full cycle, that is when you know that a bear market is where the real value is grown.  That is when you have full conviction in where bitcoin is going in the future and you no longer fear massive price dips.  Everyone always says how they wish that the price of bitcoin would drop so that they could accumulate more.  But, when that happens, the majority of people feel extreme fear and don't dare to buy while everyone else is selling off.  Or even worse, that person also loses confidence and also sells.  This is the time that you view price dips mere as bitcoin going on sale and that you need to take advantage of those opportunities.

It is those moments of market fear that have allowed me to build a portfolio with a size that I would have thought impossible when I first joined the crypto markets. Thinking back to the bear market of 2018, the price drops after summer or 2019, the March 2020 Covid price crash, the summer 2021 price dips, and now the current price drops.  Those were the make-or-break moments for my portfolio and things would be so much different for me if I hadn't gone all-in during these moments.

This is your chance, don't miss it.

Have you gone through a full bitcoin cycle yet?

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As always, thank you for reading!

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johnwege
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Stay Curious. | Bitcoin | Macro | Business Email: [email protected]


johnwege
johnwege

The Bitcoin Frontier Business Email: [email protected]

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