HODL or Fold: My First Crypto Ride

It started with a tweet.

One of those flashy threads claiming someone turned $1,000 into $100,000 in six months trading crypto. I rolled my eyes, scrolled past, then scrolled back. Something about it stuck. Maybe it was the way they mentioned “freedom,” or maybe it was just the way my 9-to-5 had been draining my soul for the past two years.

I wasn’t broke. I wasn’t rich. I was just... stuck. Living paycheck to paycheck, saving what I could, and constantly wondering if there was more. I’d heard about crypto during the 2017 boom, then again during the 2020 bull run, but I never seriously looked into it. It always felt like something for tech bros and risk junkies.

But that night, something changed. I opened YouTube. Then Reddit. Then Twitter (again). And before I knew it, I was down the rabbit hole.

The First Buy

It took me two weeks to research enough to feel “safe” making a move. Of course, looking back now, I knew nothing. But at the time, I felt like a genius.

I opened an account on Coinbase, verified my identity, linked my bank account, and bought my first $200 worth of Bitcoin. My heart was racing like I’d just gambled rent money in Vegas. I checked the price every 10 minutes. When it went up by $4, I felt like I was Warren Buffett. When it dropped by $10, I panicked.

Then came Ethereum. Then Cardano. Then Dogecoin—yes, I bought the meme. And with each coin I bought, I felt like I was joining an elite club. Except no one really talks about how isolating crypto can feel when you’re new. You're surrounded by graphs, jargon, and people flexing wins but never their losses. It's noisy. And addictive.

The First Loss

My first real lesson came during a pump-and-dump. A tiny coin I found in a Telegram group—let’s call it “MoonPup”—was “about to explode.” Influencers were tweeting about it. People in the chat were claiming 10x gains in hours.

I FOMO’d in with $300.

It doubled in ten minutes.

Then it dropped 80% in five.

I was stunned. I watched my money evaporate while refreshing the chart in disbelief. That night I couldn’t sleep. Not because of the money, but because of the feeling—powerless, foolish, and angry.

But it taught me something essential: this market isn’t just about strategy. It’s about psychology. Controlling your emotions is more valuable than predicting price action.

Learning the Hard Way

After that, I got smarter. I started tracking my trades in a spreadsheet. I watched real traders—not influencers—with small but consistent gains. I read about technical analysis, risk management, and position sizing. I learned what “DYOR” really meant: Do Your Own Research... or pay for someone else’s hype.

I stopped chasing moonshots and started building a plan. I put 50% into Bitcoin and Ethereum—blue chips. The rest I used to explore altcoins, but with rules: no more than 2% of my portfolio in anything I didn’t understand, and always set a stop-loss.

And slowly, things turned around.

I wasn’t making 10x gains overnight, but I wasn’t losing sleep anymore either. My portfolio grew. Not always up, but up enough. More importantly, I was learning.

The Market Turns

Then came the bear market.

Everything dropped. Bitcoin halved. Ethereum tanked. Coins I held with high hopes—projects I believed in—crashed 70%, 80%, even 90%. Friends who jumped in during the hype deleted their apps. Twitter went quiet.

But I stayed.

Why? Because I finally understood what “HODL” really meant—not just holding a coin, but holding conviction. Through fear. Through losses. Through uncertainty.

I adjusted my expectations. I diversified more. I took profits when I could and reinvested smartly. I stopped looking for the next 100x and started building for the next five years.

The Takeaway

Now, nearly two years after that first buy, I’ve made money—but I’ve earned something more valuable: clarity.

Crypto trading isn’t easy money. It’s risk, research, and resilience. It’s late nights watching charts and early mornings reading whitepapers. It’s learning to separate noise from signal and knowing when to walk away from hype.

I’m still a small trader. I’m not driving a Lambo. But I have a growing portfolio, a growing skillset, and for the first time, a sense of financial empowerment I never felt before.

And it all started with one tweet, one click, one trade.

So if you’re thinking about getting into crypto—do it with open eyes. Don’t chase what everyone else is hyping. Learn the rules. Make your own plan. And remember: the real gains aren’t always in your wallet.

Sometimes, they’re in your mindset.