You are not prepared for what is coming. #23
The future will empower those that take responsibility for their own lives. This includes being smart with your crypto assets!
Too many times crypto folks can’t be bothered to learn what is a hardware wallet and are complacent with their crypto security. This attitude is extremely dangerous in this space and generally in life. It’s critical that you master self-custody and find your own answers, not those given by others.
If you are new to crypto you stand no chance to differentiate between legitimate FUD and propaganda. Keep reading to see why and my views on the current market.
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A relaxed attitude in a space full of minefields is not conducive to success. Crypto is sometimes called a player vs player space, especially after the bull market ends. One man's loss is another man's gain. That is why trusting others with your crypto (e.g. third parties) or following their advice can be costly.
Your are not prepared for what is coming. As this market grows, so will the potential traps. After three crypto cycles (I started in 2014), I can confidently say that this last cycle has been one of the most brutal I’ve seen. If your laxed attitude won’t change, then I got news for you.
The 2022 bear market has too many examples to list.
I already covered some of that below.
When you apply the same attitude to your own life, then you are taking a disproportional risk.
Yet all this is preventable with a bit of effort which is asymmetrical. That little effort can prevent a much larger and potentially catastrophic event in your life. Prevention is key.
Buying a hardware wallet is one such action which has an asymmetrical cost/benefit ratio. It costs under $100 to buy one and will prevent most vectors of attack that are aimed at draining your assets.
Why is a minor inconvenience such a big effort for most?
Because there is no reward in not being hacked. All those scams or rugs you avoid won’t reward you for buying a hardware wallet. Many pull the trigger only once they got burned.
A hardware wallet prevents anyone from accessing your crypto without your explicit permission. You have full ownership and control. This is not so if you trade away your ownership for a small yield, which may very well be fictitious (e.g. Celsius, Voyager, FTX, Terra), on a third party site.
But this also applies to life in general. If you don’t make the effort, no one will do it for you. Take responsibility. Fix your diet, exercise, plan for retirement, a little every day. Don’t let others dictate what is good for you because their interests may not be aligned with yours and their actions may be at your expense.
How to retire with Bitcoin.
The next time you buy that doughnut, know that someone sells it to you for their own profit and at the expense of your health. They could very well be extremely driven and convince you that buying more doughnuts is good for your health too.
Do you trust them? You might if you spent no time doing some independent research or due diligence. This is very much the life of a crypto user. Trust others and you will likely pay dearly sooner or later.
This brings me to crypto FUD.
If you are new to Crypto Twitter, you stand no chance to differentiate between legitimate FUD and propaganda. I wrote a full thread about it on Twitter.
FUD is pure propaganda 95% of the times. Its aim is to:
Move prices (shorts)
Destroy competitors
Acquire market share
Engagement / clicks
Malice
Revenge
If you don’t make any effort to first question the reasons for such posts, you may fall for propaganda and I’ve given plenty of example in my thread. More so, propaganda works both ways. We also have FOMO, hype or memes. It’s all the same.
In crypto you have to be very careful who you trust. Start by first trusting your own judgement. Those with one million followers are in absolutely no better position to know better than you as my Twitter thread highlights. On the contrary, if you see a big account tweeting something, question it more.
Why? Because they have even more incentive to FUD, FOMO and so on. Their rewards are greater. Think of it like someone selling tens of thousands of doughnuts to thousands of people. They get rich while you all get sick. Just ask any Terra Luna UST holder that trusted Do Kwon.
My key point / TLDR = The source of truth should be you!
And for god’s sake, don’t outsource it to a third party. Bitcoin also teaches you to never do that. It was created to remove third parties from any transaction. Why would you add a third party to take care of your life? It’s yours, own it.
Now for some market updates, two points:
Major Breakout for Altcoins (excluding BTC & ETH)
This wedge is similar to how BTC broke its downtrend. A re-test of this breakout would be extremely bullish for altcoins. Make sure you position yourself accordingly.
BTC has hit a Major Resistance
While I am bullish overall, the price of BTC has hit a major resistance at 31.8k which used to be a major support. It’s unlikely the price will break this on its first try. Therefore, expect a pullback here which could drag down the overall market.
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IIn your opinion, what is the most user friendly hardware wallet? I opened a coinbase account over a year ago to start educating myself and get comfortable with buying /selling crypto and learning through mistakes. I now realize I need a Hardware wallet. I'm a slow learner in which my brain works step by step and this too will apply to a hardware wallet. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.