It has been almost 3 weeks since I dabbled in the exciting world of Cyrptocurrency. I had experienced first-hand what it felt like to see your money tumble all the way down, only for it to bounce back twice as hard the next day. With the recent events in mind (China regulations with regards to ICOs/Exchanges, JP Morgan Bitcoin scare), I would like to share some of the tips/mistakes that I have learnt from my current time in Crypto.

Do the research!

This is perhaps the most common mistake that I see others make and myself included. I cannot stress how important it is to understand the value of the product that you are going to buy in. Be wary of those who try to advertise coins and always do your own research. If you have to depend on someone else to know when to buy and sell then you put yourself at a lot of unnecessary risk. I have noticed that it is good to bounce ideas of others but research the cryptocurrency that you are intersted in!

Have patience

This is quite a tough aspect to keep under control, and I now understand why many people refer to crytpo as an 'emotional market'. When I first started trading cryptocurrency, I had a lack of patience and I would sell a coin if it wasn't making much movement, only for it to surge in price a few days later. On the opposite end, I would have patience and buy into a coin that is already peaking, buying into an ATH is never a good idea.

FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

This is one of the new terms that I had learnt whilst surfing the various posts and slack channels. FOMO is like a plague that infects us all. Thoughts such as "If I had bought this then I would be rich etc". These are pointless thoughts and can cause us to make rash decisions because we are afraid to miss out. My outlook on this is that there are numerous opportunities in crypto that come along all the time. It is better to ensure that you have done solid research and be patient.

Do not be greedy, and set a plan

One of the mistakes I have noticed with myself and a few of my peers is that greed can cloud judgement. In order to help, I decided to set a plan that I was comfortable with selling a coin. For example, lets say you are content with a coin that has risen 30%, if 30% is your threshold then sell it and do not regret later. It is better to stick to a plan to take guaranteed returns, than be blinded by your greed and regret your decision.

Set realistic goals

It is quite common for people to hear about the success stories of others in Discord, Slack and other relevant media channels. There is always quite a lot of "lambo" talk and it creates a negative aspect on the mindset of traders. Please be realistic and rational, riches are not achieved overnight but is an accumulation of smart decision making and hard work.

Backup everything and double check everything

Make sure that all the exchanges/wallets that you have are backed up either electronically and also having a hard copy of everything. Too many times have I read about the horror stories of those who had lost their funds because of not having a backup. I personally have backups on encrypted USB drives and also in a notebook. When you are sending funds from one exchange to another or to a wallet, make sure you triple check that the address you are sending to is the correct one. A lot of the times, if you send to the wrong address, the funds are not recoverable.

These are some of the tips/mistakes that I have learnt so far, I hoped these were helpful and also share to me about some of the experiences that you have also encountered!