Topic: The mind of a HODLer - page 2. (Read 513 times)

The HODL approach of price averaging is really a form of trading. I can understand your problem with spending Bitcoin, it's the reason that I can't bring myself to buy alts - most of the exchanges seem to require this.

The only way I can split between trading and HODLing is to have two accounts. I have my HODL accounts, which are controlled by Core nodes, and I don't ever withdraw from them. My trading account on CoinBase Pro is completely separate, and I have to block the thought that I am actually trading Bitcoin. I did have a temptation to move some Bitcoin over to CoinBase when I wanted to short, but I really need to  avoid doing that. I need to speculate with fiat, and not with real money like Bitcoin.

I'm a hodler for sure.
What you need as a hodler is a goal, a dream or whatever you wanna call it. Just set a BTC price and hold until it gets there. In the mean time, accumulate as much as you can, if possible at the right moment (like now !).
I take January 2018 as a reference, how much profit I had made at the time and think about what the price of BTC would need to be for me to reach the kind of profits I want.
In the meantime, I check my portfolio everyday but still stay cool whatever happens. I am positive Bitcoin (and even other cryptos) will succeed, I'm not worried.

I'm a former gambler (in sports) so I know I wouldn't be successful in trading. I'd go 100%, be too greedy and in the end probably fail.

I believe that as a holder you need a plan and you have to stick to it.

I'm a Bitcoin maximalist, and a HODLer. Well I like to think of myself as a HODLer, but I'm not sure that I'm really committed mentally. I've been collecting small amounts since the price was in two digits, and I've been picking it up in payment for goods that I've sold, so my wallet accumulation has been pretty slow, and it isn't very full. I have never bought anything using Bitcoin, as I want to hang on to the coins that I collect. I decided that I should try a bit of trading to increase my holding, and this has made me think about my attitude to the HODL.

I put a few hundred pounds into a CoinBase account to experiment with some trading. I chose CoinBase because they support Sterling deposits and withdrawals. I've been watching the statistical videos on YouTube, and I decided that I would have a go at trading the wicks whilst the Bitcoin price is going sideways. I wanted my experiment to be low risk, so I don't use any gearing ( leverage ). The idea is to try to recognise a price channel, and buy and sell on the wicks outside that channel. The movement is pretty small, so profits are minimal. I tend to use a spread that is too wide, so I'm not trading very often. Once I had started I was able to keep both a buy and a sell position open, and I made a few gains. The problem started when the price broke to the downside and settled into a new channel. I then started to think like a trader, and I decided that I should take the loss, and continue to trade. This is not the mindset of a HODLer.

A HODLer believes in the long term growth in the price of Bitcoin, and he price averages to build his holding. Taking a loss in the trading activity was not the correct choice. A price drop doesn't become a loss until you sell and realise the loss. Profit is exactly the same. What I should have done was to move the coins that were showing a notional loss into one of my long term wallets away from CoinBase, and kept them there for a few years. I could then have replaced the fiat in my trading account, and carried on without the mental shackles created by a notional loss. I will also have to develop the mental freedom that allows me to purchase coins at ( say ) £3,100 if I think there is a potential profit, even though I realised a gain a few days earlier at £2,900.

Do other members have these difficulties, or do they not try to combine the attitudes of a HODLer and a trader?

[EDIT]
I missed the golden cross at £3,005. Now I have to make a decision. Of course, do nothing and watch is a valid choice.