The Persistent Believer
My friend jumped into crypto altcoins in 2020, right as the bull market was heating up. He believed in the "next big thing" — small-cap tokens, DeFi gems, meme coins, you name it.
In 2021, amid the euphoria, he put in $1,000.
2022 brought the brutal bear market — Terra crash, FTX collapse, endless red candles — but the internet screamed "HODL, it's gold, diamond hands!" So he added $2,000 more.
2023: still bleeding, but recovery whispers started. He DCA'd another $1,500.
2024: sideways pain, false pumps, rug pulls. Another $2,000 went in.
2025: altcoins mostly dead or down 90%+, yet he doubled down with $2,500, convinced the cycle would return.
Early 2026: one final $1,000 "dip buy" for hope.
Total invested: around $10,000 over six years of disciplined (some say stubborn) dollar-cost averaging.
Everyone around him — family, friends, online forums — kept saying "hold, hold, it's coming back, you're early, don't sell at the bottom!"
Today, in 2026, his entire portfolio sits at just $200.
Most of those altcoins either rugged, faded to zero, got delisted, or lost 95–99% forever. The "hold" crowd was right about Bitcoin surviving, but wrong about most altcoins being "gold."
He didn't panic-sell, didn't leverage, didn't chase hype too wildly — he just believed too hard in the wrong basket.
Lesson?
Crypto isn't always about time in the market. Sometimes it's about which market you're in. Altcoin dreams can turn into very expensive lessons.
#TrueStoryCrypto