It was crazy. It was actually because of the dot-com bubble bursting that I was so conservative with Crypto. I'd watched the amazing heights crumble. I knew crypto was going to correct from it's high's, but like everyone else, there was no way to determine where they'd be.
So, rightly or wrongly, I stuck with a 10:1 ratio. If my crypto investment went up by 10X, I'd withdraw all but my initial investment. It worked well, but I obviously didn't hit the heights that some did.
No Regrets though. In my mind, it was free money.
If you were cashing out when coins hit 10x your investment I would venture a guess that you did way better than average. The person who mentored me taught me to do something similar and "free money" is a good way of looking at it.
I've been keeping a close eye on Gensler's and Warren's antics and believe we're in for a rough year ahead. I think the SEC is trying to bully all US-based exchanges into shutting down and then the banks will be poised to take their place as custodians of our crypto. After this, we'll get the regulatory clarity that we've all been hoping for, the big banks will make a windfall from a new revenue stream, and will cooperate fully with whatever the SEC demands of them. I hope I'm wrong.
Crypto's power will only be revealed when our mindsets get away from converting it to fiat to use it. If you and I trade Satoshi's for goods, and never think about converting to fiat, we're golden.
I know that CRA(Canada) and IRS (US) actually love most Crypto's because they are 100% transparent and indelible. They can download the BlockChain at any time and see all the transactions. But those transactions are all anonymous ... until you convert to fiat. Every Exchange that converts to Fiat that's based in US or Canada are registered on FinTrack and are obligated to submit all transactions to CRA/IRS. The only leverage you have is to prove whether it's Capital Gains (you purchased and then sold). or Taxable Income ... When you do the math - there are more hidden fees in the crypto space than there are in regular banks.
Purchasing something with crypto is empowering isn't it? I'll never forget the first time I did it in 2017.
I think you're absolutely right. I think most three letter agencies understand the advantages and opportunities crypto and blockchain offer. I also think there's a war being waged right now about which corporations will get to profit from it. The old legacy banks wield immense political power and are using those connections to try to secure their piece of the pie (or should I say all of the pie). It's going to be an interesting year.