A few of us Hiveans are chatting it up on Discord, reminiscing about better days, greener candles. @Acidyo brings up a big regret he’s been holding onto for years at this point: “I didn’t sell enough at $3.”
These red days can really mess with our heads, I gotta admit. I, for one, am the living embodiment of a meme at this point—I’ve got nothing left to buy the dip with. But this doesn’t pull me into a state of fear, doesn’t freeze me. To the contraire mon cher, I’m upset I can’t pick up more tokens on the cheap.
I told @Acidyo my conundrum with total honesty: I’m terrible at selling. Sure, I might think I “know” when to buy, but no matter how much I plan my exit strategy or set aside for the lean times, I always hesitate to pull the trigger. I just can’t do it.
That’s exactly why I’m writing this out—because I can’t express it any other way. I’m trapped here, for two different reasons, coming from totally different angles.
I Don’t Trust the Government
Naturally, I don’t feel safe holding money inside a bank. This feeling has gotten worse over the years as I’ve learned more about how “it all works.” A few years back, my bank accounts got frozen over a traffic violation. Let me say that again—a traffic violation.
Whatever sense of security I might’ve felt having dollars in “real” accounts vanished that day, like a handful of cotton candy in hot water.
I Don’t Trust Myself
Being in crypto gives me a shot at some kind of retirement. Maybe, with a mix of luck and hard work, I can live out my later years with a bit of dignity, with some flexibility.
I could live wherever I want, not worrying if a pension check can find me consistently.
So, I’m Trapped
But not in a way that makes me worry or feel bad. I feel like I’m nested here, in this system, drawn in by the seductive philosophy and the sweet scent of a promise.
MenO
It is the fear of uncertainty that makes it difficult for most people to know exactly when to take profit, what if it goes up more, that could be more painful calculating what we could have gotten if we didn't sell early...
its a common problem it seems. Good to know I'm not alone.
That was a terrible thing to do, freezing your account over a traffic violation. I think your decision not to sell is a good one. We’ve been through this circle before and hopefully looking forward to something better. And talk of buying the deep, I wish I had a little extra to do so too but crypto has a future and am sure the efforts you are putting into it will pay out for the future…
Meanwhile did they later unfreeze it?
it took a year of back and forth until they realized:
But yeah.. i keep 10 bucks on that account these days.
That’s annoying
A whole year
Sorry man
I had a similar experience though not same story. I lost my phone to some scrupulous individuals and then I blocked my account through a call to my bank’s customer care units to safeguard the little cash there.
If I told you the back and forth I went through to unblock my account, it was totally frustrating after I’ve written Myriads of emails and putting across several calls to the customer care to no avail. I was living in a remote area and going to the physical banking house would take over six hours back and forth. After months of frustration, I had to embark on the journey.
I also live far away from the cities... about an hour and a half to a small one, and three hours to the big one. It's annoying, but I would not change it for the world.
I'm the same way. I will hold a token all the way to zero before selling it for a loss. I also let unity bias get the better of me and keep waiting for this specific number to sell that never happens and then I am left holding the bag.
They've written books about people like us. lol!
😃
I appreciate the honesty, @meno:
If equally honest, most of us would add we're terrible at when to buy too and when combined? How does that typically end? Exactly. And the reason investing is far more difficult to profitably and consistently execute than many realize.
Your topic raises a genuine question from this newbie to an oldbie - a word I am borrowing from FriendlyMoose's recent post:
How do you personally view the selling of HIVE overall? For example, in this new club, we're talking about rewards being sold into Sats of BTC.
I ask, as I can read posts like this one, with all of the myriad comments, and come away with the perception that many big accounts here on the Hive blockchain take a dim view of anyone selling theirs.
There's a total disconnect from the philosophy of personal freedom and determination crypto was born from, and the idea that people should not be able to do as they please with their earnings.
Which is to say. If anyone attacks you because you are selling your tokens, they are automatically wrong. The nuance in the conversation is this: Knowing who is thinking long term, and who is just dumping all they got, should affect our behavior.
I, for one, and can only speak for myself. Are less likely to vote for someone who is powering down consistently. This is not to say, I would not upvote them, I would, granted they put the effort. But, because I'm also worried about the long game, I can't ignore the behavior either.
The Grampus ratio people are talking about today is great for quickly assessing one thing: Long term commitment. Although as you know, some people already though of ways of "breaking" it.
Here's the deal. I rather us come up with a Karma system of sorts. I rather focus or highlight, for that matter. users that are behaving in the best way possible. Make it a game, if you will. Effectively build a healthy culture around these desired behaviors.
I'm giving this quite a bit of thought as of late. I'm yet to have clarity on the math of it all. But, I'm working on it.
Okay, I respect getting your clear perspective, along with some guidance for future thought, on my question, @meno. We certainly agree on this:
That said, I understand your caveats as well. And I think I have a pretty good idea about the same thing, as I continue on, step by step.
Again, some honesty and openness:
For the sake of whatever the future is for this or any blockchain, I hope for experiencing a lot more of this. As it is, without going into too much detail, I have already seen enough of a different approach to lead me to question what on earth I am doing in here.
Please don't misunderstand that statement. We all have one and the same universal fixed constant - our time. Which, of course, everyone is free to do with what they will. As a Silver Blogger, I want to be at peace, at the end of any given day, I have invested mine wisely.
That mindset, we says we dont believe we will ever reach those levels again. Ask a Bitcoiner if the regret not sellig more at 100k.
I believe most wont complain that they didnt sell at 100K, most believe we will reach a higher ath later down the road.
I haven't put a penny of fiat into crypto and I plan to keep it that way. I'm in HODL mode for now, so my goal is just to stack HBD and HP. I traded a bit of STEEM for BTC back in the day just to experiment, but I'm trading fiat for durable goods and waiting for the crypto boom and dollar crash to make any moves.
Steady as it goes.
The fiat world is going on the way many have seen before the ultimate crash
It is time to take matter to our own hands
Prepare and avoid surprises
Selling at the top is hard. We second guess ourselves, thinking "what if it keeps going up", and our indecisiveness keeps us glued in as the asset peaks then turns around and starts crashing. Le sigh.
This next time! ...if the "this time" has any more life in it. I suspect what we got in Nov was all we get this time. The next bull then! ...le sigh
Iron will is what we need. Funnily enough, meditating does help.
Bank freezing money over a traffic ticket… yeah, that’s why I now planning on stashing everything in crypto. It's hard to sell when you don’t trust anything else
what is that word some bitcoiners love to use? Un-seizable? that sounds almost right.
hahaha seizable 🤣🤣🤣
I understand you completely. You bring up a number of points here, so let me take it one by one.
When to sell - yes, this is a big problem for many as we all want to sell at the top, but no one knows where the top is or when it is in. You only know after, when the chart confirms it, but many are living intoxicated with hopium and confusing market structure shift with correction. I'm however in a better position now as I know technical analyses and can make better decisions (in theory).
Holding money in the bank - Not your key, not your crypto, this goes to banks as well. The bank account is not yours, you're just renting it from the bank and you also pay them to do it. Are we really this stupid? Pray for CBDC to not be adopted, as that would be the end of the remaining freedom we have. Keys held by central bank and the possibility of printing (modifying the code as they please) also in the government's hand.
Crypto retirement fund - This is actually a very good thing, but not as easy as it seems at first glance as it needs constant monitoring and decision making at the right time. I have set up a retirement plan for myself in $BTC and it's still on. I'm buying $40 worth $BTC each month and it's been going on since $BTC was at $18k.
I love this clarity of thought. I used to dedicate myself to reading charts. Lost my edge, made too many bad calls. I'd say to trade you need two things. Money you don't need to pay the rent, and nerves of steel. Both I lack these days.
Where were you living when the bank accounts were frozen? The US, Ecuador, or somewhere else? That's a terrible thing, regardless of location. :(