I still remember the exact moment I clicked “Buy” on my first ever crypto trade. It was a random Tuesday night, and I’d just watched one too many YouTube videos hyping up Ethereum. I felt a rush of adrenaline… and then immediate panic.
That feeling? Yeah, it came back a lot in those early months.
Looking back, I realize how wildly unprepared I was when I started trading crypto. I had no real strategy, no clue about risk management, and definitely no understanding of what a bear market even was.
If you’re just getting started — or even if you’ve been in the game for a while — let me save you some of the pain. Here’s everything I wish I knew before I started trading crypto, broken down piece by piece.
Everyone talks about crypto being emotional, but you won’t understand how emotional until you’re watching a green candle shoot up 30% while you’re sitting on the sidelines. You feel like you’re missing the opportunity of a lifetime.
So what did I do? I jumped in. Bought at the top. Then watched the coin crash 40% in a day.
Twice.
FOMO isn’t a signal to enter a trade — it’s a signal to pause. When a coin is mooning, it’s too late for entry unless you’re scalping with a plan. The smart money enters before the hype.
Lesson: No one ever got rich by chasing green candles.
When I first started, I thought diversification meant buying every coin that looked promising. I held 19 different cryptos — most of which I couldn’t even pronounce, let alone explain their use case.
The result? Zero focus. Constant stress. And a bunch of red bags.
It’s better to deeply understand 2–3 coins than to blindly hold 20. Concentrated conviction beats confused diversification.
If I had just stuck to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and one or two others I actually researched, I would’ve avoided a lot of losses.
Lesson: Quality > quantity. Focus breeds results.
I used to think charts were just for nerds and Wall Street types. I was wrong.
Without even basic technical analysis, you’re essentially trading blind. I entered trades based on vibes and Twitter threads. Shocking that I kept losing, right?
Learning basic TA — support/resistance levels, trendlines, RSI, moving averages — can completely shift your win rate.
It’s not about predicting the market. It’s about improving your odds.
Lesson: Even a simple TA system can give you an edge. Don’t skip it.
My early strategy? “Go all in and pray.” Not exactly sustainable.
I once blew 50% of my portfolio on a single leveraged trade because I “knew it would bounce.” It didn’t.
Every pro trader says the same thing for a reason: protect your capital first.
That means:
Lesson: Survive first, thrive later. Protect your downside.
I used to conflate the two. I’d buy a coin, planning to “hold it for years”… then panic sell it 48 hours later during a dip.
That’s not investing. That’s emotional chaos.
Trading is short-term. You need a setup, a target, a stop-loss, and an exit plan.
Investing is long-term. You need research, conviction, and diamond hands.
Lesson: Decide what you’re doing — before you click “Buy.”
It took me forever to stop taking losses personally. I’d spiral into self-doubt, convinced the market was rigged or that I just wasn’t smart enough for crypto.
But the truth is… sometimes, the trade just doesn’t work out. Even pros have losing streaks.
Losing is part of winning. The market doesn’t care about your feelings — it just reacts to supply and demand.
Your job is to execute your system. Not to predict the future or be right all the time.
Lesson: Detach emotionally. Stick to the process.
Early on, I followed every flashy influencer on Twitter and YouTube. Their portfolios seemed insane. Their confidence? Next level. So naturally, I copied their trades.
Guess what happened? I got rekt.
Most influencers don’t show their losses. Some get paid to shill coins. Some don’t even trade.
Blindly following them is like getting surgery from someone who just watched a YouTube tutorial.
Lesson: Learn from others, sure — but do your own research. Always.
I thought crypto was a shortcut to wealth. And for some, it has been. But for most? It’s a slow grind of lessons, mistakes, and growth.
I’ve watched people blow entire accounts in one day trying to “flip $500 into $5,000.” I’ve been that person.
Sustainable success in crypto comes from patience, discipline, and long-term thinking. There’s no cheat code. No guaranteed signals. Just consistency.
Lesson: If you focus on learning instead of earning, the money will eventually follow.
There was a point where I had a solid strategy. Good entries, clear setups… but I’d still lose money. Why?
Because I lacked discipline. I’d move stop-losses. I’d revenge trade. I’d let losses spiral.
Your mindset is the foundation. Without emotional control, even the best system will fail.
Trading is 20% strategy, 80% psychology.
Lesson: Master your mind, or it’ll master you.
This one hurt. I can’t count how many times I let a trade go up 60%… only to watch it crash back to breakeven or a loss because I was waiting for just a bit more.
No one ever went broke taking profits. You don’t need to catch the exact top. Just stick to your plan and secure wins consistently.
Use take-profit levels. Trail your stop-loss. Don’t let greed wreck you.
Lesson: Profit isn’t real until it’s realized.
Leverage is like nitrous in a race car — it can make you faster, but it also increases your chances of crashing.
I was so obsessed with flipping small amounts into big wins that I kept using 10x, 20x leverage… and blowing trades.
You can grow a small account with consistency, not leverage. Leverage amplifies mistakes just as much as it amplifies gains.
Lesson: Master spot trading before touching leverage. It’s a tool, not a shortcut.
For the first year, I didn’t track anything. No logs, no screenshots, no reflections. Just vibes and regret.
When I finally started journaling my trades, my entire approach changed. I could see patterns — both in the market and in my behavior.
A trading journal is your mirror. It shows you your flaws and your edge. Use it to review wins, dissect losses, and improve consistently.
Lesson: If you’re not tracking it, you’re not growing.
If you’ve made it this far, first — thank you. Second, know this:
Trading crypto is hard. It will test your patience, your discipline, and your ego. But it can also teach you resilience, focus, and strategy like nothing else.
You don’t have to learn every lesson the hard way like I did. Start slow. Learn fast. And never forget: the goal isn’t just to make money — it’s to stay in the game long enough to win.
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What I Wish I Knew Before I Started Trading Crypto was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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