Fortune Favours the Bold - How I got my ETH to 15x!!

Hi there!

It's been nearly a month since I created my Seedly account, and it's heartening to see the Seedly community embracing cryptocurrencies :D Many of y'all have messaged me on LinkedIn to discuss your views on the crypto industry, and I have decided to dedicate my very first Seedly Opinion to sharing my personal experience in crypto investments!

"Fortune favours the bold" is the English translation of the Latin proverb "Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat", historically used in the context of warfare (peep John Wick's tattoo). My investment philosophy centres around this statement - in striving for superior investment returns, one must not shy from risks. Be bold enough to take the first step, and the rest will be history.

Background

First off, seeing as to how I only started my crypto exploration journey in 2019, I definitely don't see myself as an early investor in crypto. I never really had the guts to put my money in crypto, until one day, the global economy plunged due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Witnessing crypto prices tank in tandem with freefalling equity prices, it was a ripe opportunity. Notwithstanding the negativity in the markets, I made my first ETH purchase at 180USD per ETH. Throughout 2020, I averaged down (and up) my position in ETH to arrive at an average cost of 240USD.

I decided to sell some ETH in April when it crossed 3k USD, and after crossing 4k USD in May, I liquidated my remaining holdings. Overall, my average selling price for ETH was 3.5k USD.

This accounts for a ~15x increase in my crypto portfolio!

Reflections

After a year of investing in crypto, I learnt two main lessons:

1. Don't be afraid to invest in 'unorthodox' assets

When I started buying ETH, I was surrounded by naysayers, skeptical of my decision. Be it boomers who viewed crypto as a scam, or friends who overlooked the value of blockchain, my choices were shrouded with doubt. People mocked my investment when ETH continued falling to 150 USD, but I ignored the toxicity and continued buying more :O

Ironically, after a year, these people began to FOMO and started buying cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, or even DOGE at their ATH last month. Seeing them succumb to peer pressure catalysed the decision to start selling my ETH!

2. Know when to sell & don't be greedy

As much as knowing when to buy is important, knowing when to sell is equally important. Other than FOMO in the markets, Tesla's partial liquidation of its BTC stake to "demonstrate the token's liquidity" was a huge red flag.

In addition, I bought ETH at a time when it was not widely recognised. In early 2020, most people's perception of cryptocurrency was just Bitcoin. But nowadays, Ethereum seems to be as commonplace as Bitcoin. With more people paying attention to DeFi and NFTs, driving ETH over 4k USD, I felt that it was time to sell as its potential value had already been somewhat priced in.

Personal Strategy

A few people have asked for my opinion after the entire crypto industry tanked last week, and tbh I am in no position to do any specific price predictions. IMO, those who can confidently do so are likely blinded by hubris.

Like many fellow crypto hodlers out there, I was affected by the wipeout, but I count myself lucky for having sold all my ETH holdings prior to that. Nevertheless, my conviction in the future of Web3.0 still stands, and Ethereum, being the backbone of the decentralised Internet, deserves a spot in my portfolio. After dropping to an enticing price of $2k USD, I couldn't resist the urge and ended up buying back a couple of ETH lol~ in fact, I intend to buy more if it drops further to $1.5k USD.

I have also continued researching into different blockchain projects, and am rather bullish on Polygon (MATIC). Ever since I started selling my ETH in Apr/May, I used my gains to DCA into MATIC at an average cost of $0.80 USD. While the crash obliterated a significant amount of my MATIC gains, I plan to take advantage of this opportunity to accrue more MATIC.

Risks

It is imperative to recognise that crypto investments aren't for everyone. The high level of volatility may not suit everyone's risk appetite, and contrary to popular belief, I don't see crypto as a quick get-rich scheme. At this juncture, I believe one has to be patient enough to hodl while waiting for the inevitable adoption of blockchain technology.

Looking Forward

Investing is a subjective matter and ultimately, you should invest within your circle of competence. If you do decide to take a leap of faith and invest in something unfamiliar, do remember to invest in yourself first! It is unwise to FOMO and jump on bandwagons instead of understanding your investment first.

Having said that, remember the quote I introduced at the beginning? Don't ignore an investment opportunity just because no one is buying it. If you have a strong conviction in an asset, and you deem the current price point attractive, go ahead - be bold enough to buy it!! Everyone is a genius in a bull market, so don't just follow everyone blindly. During times of bearish sentiments like now, we will see those without conviction panic selling at a loss as fear consumes them - don't be like them! If you truly believe in the underlying blockchain technology, crashes like these are merely opportunities to buy more, but you need to overcome your fear and be brave enough to do so :P

Last but not least, I would like to thank you for taking your time to read my article! As this is my first Opinions piece, I would greatly appreciate any feedback on areas of improvement :) Feel free to message me on LinkedIn if you would like to discuss with me personally on crypto/stocks too. I wish you all the best in your personal finance journey :D

Cheers!

Disclaimer:

*All the views presented in this article are my personal opinions, not financial advice. Remember to do your own due diligence! Time and effort will be needed to gain an appreciable understanding of different blockchain projects to filter the good from the bad :)

**For students invested in crypto, do take note of your exposure level. Personally, my crypto portfolio exceeded 100k in Feb and fluctuations of 40-50k weren't unheard of. This affected my sleep as well as my studies and was the final straw that engendered my decision to cut crypto exposure in April before finals started.