How I got through the 2017-2018 crash and how you could get through the upcoming one

I got into cryptocurrency back in November 2017, right before/during the bull run that had BTC and many altcoins' prices jump to ATH.

Making profits was so easy a lot of people, myself included, got too confident and took many risks investing in random coins as if they were the "next big thing". When the crash came, I saw my portfolio go from profits to -75% of my initial investment. Here's how I dealt with it and came back into the green in 2021.

I am sharing my story because the same situation might happen to many newcomers when a crash comes (and it will). Don't fool yourselves, BTC will not reach 500k just like that. We might enter another 3 years of bear market that will result in: – People selling at loss – Loss of public interest for cryptocurrency – Enforcement of the "Bitcoin is a scam" mentality – A lot of people losing money

So here are a few tips I learned and gathered through the years which helped me get back into the green:

1. "You haven't loss anything until you sell". I read this advice here on r/cryptocurrency and it really stuck with me. Even if you bought at ATH and are now facing losses, you shouldn't neglect the possibility of your investment becoming profitable once again during a future bullrun. Some of my assets took 3 years to get back into the green but still ended up being more profitable than if I had placed that money in the bank for the same amount of time.

2. Invest MAINLY in projects you believe in and keep the "get rich quick" ones to a minimum. This was one of my biggest mistakes. I was seeing shitcoins take massive gains in days while my favourite projects were stagnant and FOMO got the best of me. I ended up losing A LOT in coins that were overhyped and never recovered from the crash. Don't be fooled by high % gains, they don't mean anything when a crash comes and your quick earned profit disappears never to be seen again.

3. Don't be afraid to reorganize your portfolio even if you're in the negative. When I was down 75% from my initial investment, I started feeling like my money was already lost and didn't mind taking "risks" with it. I sold some assets I didn't believe in anymore and used that money to buy more of the ones I still believed in. That allowed me to buy my favourite coins at crazy low prices without injecting more fiat. That alone brought me back in the positive in 2021.

4. TAKE SOME PROFIT OUT. I understand a lot of us are hoping for life changing gains and live by the hodl mentality. But one thing I learned in crypto is: sooner or later prices will go down. Having profits ready to be used when a crash comes is what will save your initial investment. Don't be afraid to set some profit aside in stable coins ready to buy a TRUE dip. Not a -15% but one that would bring your portfolio value to almost nothing. Knowing you have some profits ready to save your ass when a crash comes will make dips easier on your sanity and future bull runs much more profitable.

5. Be patient. If you really believe in cryptocurrency and believe this is just the beginning, don't let dips and crashes get the best of you. BTC went from a 20k ATH to 5k in 2017-2018 only to come back to 60k in 2021.

Once again, keep in mind that bull runs make us all too confident. It's easy to joke about hodling through the storms but it won't be once they come for real. Be ready and rational when it happens.