Yeah, definitely. If you have the appetite and resources to trade the STEEM range, then the last few months could have been a perfect time to increase holdings or to make a good chunk in profits. I've been debating on whether or not to get back into short-term trades, but I think it might be time to test it out again.
Either way, these ranges - even with mostly low volume - will likely serve as a bottom for prices as long as a majority of the stake is still tied up in SP and users are still participating in the platform. The longer we have current conditions, the more each of us can accumulate for the long-term, which could turn out to be quite lucrative if wider adoption of the platform and use of the currency ever occurs.
Thanks for your reply and for the agreement. The funny thing about ranges is they lull most folks into "I'll buy later" complacency. Confession: that was the case with me and Monero.
XMR makes for a good case study, because the eager buyers during those dull times were mainly Monero enthusiasts: either outright HODLers or de facto HODLers who were loaning out their XMRs on Polo's Lending market. Someone like me (admittedly a non-techie) who wasn't jazzed up by Monero's tech was far more likely to put off buying XMR when the time was ripe.
Heckuva real-time lesson: you do need (informed) faith to be a long-term holder of a cryptocurrency. Not only to buy it when it's out of favor but also to avoid selling it when it finally takes off. If I had taken this guy's advice when it was written - Monero under 25 cents? What the hell are you waiting for? - I would have snapped up several thousand...but knowing my limitations, I prolly would have sold 'em at a buck each.
It's a hard but very useful lesson to learn: you won't HODL and reap the big long-term gains unless you have underlying (and informed!) faith in the promise of the cryptocurrency. The only way to play the game is to be very selective at the outset, make sure that your psyche is compatible with the underlying vision, and then stick with it as an article of faith.
It's the guys who fit this template who've been richly rewarded by Monero. And, I aver, it's the folks who fit all three attributes of this template who will become rich with STEEM.
I agree with almost everything you wrote here. Just one thing to consider...
I don't think there's a problem with taking profits when the price rises, even if you think it could go higher. There's absolutely nothing wrong with making a 300% profit (buying at $0.25 and selling at $1.00). Trading - and even outright gambling - is all about percentages. After any possible expenses, pretty much any profit is good, but if you can clear 5% or more from a trade, you're in good shape.
I'm sure there will be a lot of people who are buying STEEM right now and plan to sell it if it breaks $0.20 or $0.30, or even $0.50. That's actually the smart play. Of course, you don't have to sell all of your holdings at those prices, but as long as you're making profits, it's all good in my book.
It all depends on your appetite for risk. If you have the money to park in an investment and wait it out (fully informed, of course), then you can make a lot of money doing it. Selling on the way up will always be a win. Where a lot of people run into trouble is trying to guess short-term fluctuations in order to increase profits on the way up. Most of the time, they miss their opportunities and actually end up with less profits than if they had just held and sold at their targets.
When you start making money on investments, it's hard to avoid believing that you'll continue making good decisions on every trade. I've been there before and lost some good money doing it. Fortunately, I learned my lesson after a few tries.
Good points; thanks for the reply.
For me, I use Steemit as a "side crypto bank account" - I send daily mining / trading profits here and power up. I do see long term value here. I dont use banks any more and keep my entire wealth in gold/crypto. Steemit may end up being a very valuable tool down the road in many different ways.
That's not a bad idea, but I would caution putting all of your investments into two sectors - one of them being cryptos.
However, I do believe that having a pegged instrument like SBDs makes it much easier and relatively "safer" (I use that term loosely) to hold cryptocurrencies. Not needing to cash out holdings in order to avoid or mitigate volatility is a huge plus and gives STEEM/SBD an advantage over pretty much all other cryptos.
Even if the social media aspect of this doesn't turn out well, I think the blockchain and SBDs offer a huge amount of potential and potential value.
I think that's probably a pretty successful strategy for psychologically distancing yourself for a long term hold.
I've become a bit more price sensitive lately powering down and accumulated more on top, I can see the benefit of viewing your holdings as savings.