“The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”

• Warren Buffet

There's no reason to believe that crypto markets are any different. Crypto isn't just retail investors and speculators anymore. Institutional investors, algorithmic high frequency trading, enormous market makers as well as market manipulators are all playing a part in price action these days.

Reading into fundamentals, technical analysis, project vision, venture capital interest, roadmaps and the like are only part of the due diligence necessary to pick long term vs. short term investments. Are you looking to scalp a trade or back a long term project? Setting proper expectations as well as goals is a struggle but even more difficult is setting exit strategies and or contingency plans.

I have fallen victim to FOMO and even worse, sunk cost fallacies more than once and I have the wounds to prove it. As a small retail speculator myself I know how difficult it can be to watch a short term trade go against you and start sapping away all the profit from 2,3,4 or more trades before it. One bad decision can wipe all the rewards in an instant.

Just recently I was watching LTC and I knew there would be a dump after the halving. I was anticipating it, watched it pretty close and pulled the trigger on a long position at 15x right where I thought it would bottom just to watch it dump another 2% right after. Doesn't sound like much but at 15x leverage it was a pretty significant loss and it happened almost instantly.

My research had pointed to a bottom around $83 which would have been pretty close to a 100% retrace of the pump leading up to the halving. For 4 days I waited for a bounce all the while my position slipped farther and farther into negative territory.

I have a good foundational belief that LTC is and will continue to be a top contender for some time to come so I knew it would rebound eventually. I didn't panic. Didn't close a losing trade, I simply set a stop loss that would have been painful but recoverable and a take profit just 10% above my entry (at 15x leverage) not 10% price action mind you. Im happy to say I still profited from that trade even though at times I thought it would trigger the stop loss.

Patience is a virtue, sometimes you just have to set your stop loss/take profit and walk away to let things run their course. You've already committed to a potential loss if you continue to watch the trade your emotions could take over for logic and you end up chasing losing trades in desperation. “If I just add another $30 I'll lower my entry price” don't throw more money at a losing trade, that's the sunk cost fallacy in full swing. Set your targets and go throw a baseball with your kids, go make a sandwich, go play a video game you enjoy. Being overly involved in a losing trade is a recipe for disaster.

The big dogs in the game are looking for you to make mistakes, they throw the price action opposite predictions to trigger liquidations and increase their positions. Don't be a victim be a victor!!

Good luck out there and as always happy trading!!