My journey into cryptocurrency
This post was originally published on my old finance blog in February 2021. Transferred here as I am no longer maintaining that site.
I came to cryptocurrency later than most people who talk about it. My first Bitcoin and Ethereum purchases were in late September 2020 — well into the bull market, not at the beginning of it.
I did not have the mindset to hold. I traded them for gains, took some profits, and told myself I had done well. I had done reasonably well. But I had not done as well as I would have if I had simply held.
The early trades
The trades were profitable. The lessons were more valuable than the profits. Chief among them: I was treating assets with genuine long-term potential like short-term trades. I was optimising for small gains while capping my upside on something that was still early in its adoption curve.
At the time of writing this post, Bitcoin was at approximately SGD 52,400 and Ethereum at around SGD 2,240. Both had moved significantly from my original entry points.
Changing the approach in 2021
After those early trades, I was reluctant to buy back in. The prices had moved considerably and buying at all-time highs felt uncomfortable.
In 2021, I changed my thinking. Rather than waiting for a price I felt comfortable with, I decided to buy for the long hold — and this time, to take the assets off exchanges entirely.
I moved my holdings to a BC Vault hardware wallet. If the plan is to hold for years, keeping assets on an exchange adds unnecessary counterparty risk. Cold storage is the right move for long-term crypto positions.
A note on volatility
Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are highly volatile. At the time of writing, they were in the middle of a significant bull run. Bull runs end. Prices fall. Anyone buying at elevated prices should be prepared for significant drawdowns and should only allocate what they can afford to lose entirely.
I am bullish on both over the long term. I am also realistic about the short-term risks.
This is not financial advice. Crypto is speculative and highly volatile. Please do your own research.
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