On Dealing With Bitcoin Price Volatility

Soon, I’ll be marking my 4th year of being actively involved with Bitcoin and my regrettable shitcoinery. In that time, I’ve almost become numb to seeing drastic price changes in Bitcoin and yes, that cover photo is me, I’m 26 lol 😛

One of the reasons I’m not completely numb is because it required some rewiring of my thought processes to behave in the opposite way to what would seem normal.

That and living through the 2018 brutal bear market, I feel my stomach couldn’t care less about 30% drawdowns when I’ve experienced greater than 85% drawdowns!

Expect Volatility

I knew Bitcoin and shitcoins were volatile when I first got in but it’s a different feeling entirely when you experience it for the first time.

Even though you are expecting it, actually having skin in the game and seeing your net worth go through wild swings in either direction puts you on an emotional rollercoaster like no other.

Do Your Own Research

I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t sick to my core in 2018 but then I hadn’t done anywhere near enough research and everything I did was based on emotion.

This is a terrible way to go about things and I accepted the beating I took because, well, it was my own decision so it was my responsibility.

That’s the thing about getting involved with Bitcoin. The onus really is on you to DYOR and you will get caught out big time if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Have A Plan

This is where having a plan really helps you out because it quietens the noise from FUD and moonboys. Sometimes cutting it out completely. Obviously, once you have done your research and know what you are buying, then having a plan will put your mind at ease.

For example, if your goal is just to get to a certain number of Bitcoin or sats then you don’t need to worry about price so much in that the lower it is, the more sats you can acquire for the same amount of fiat.

Therefore, all you really need to do is focus on getting to that x amount of Bitcoin and work towards it without taking on too much risk like a degen.

Obviously, not investing more than you can afford to lose is a good starting point for any investment! Always speak to a qualified financial advisor before spending your money as I’m definitely not one 🙂

New Way Of Thinking

Of course, this doesn’t come without risk as Bitcoin really is a new form of money.

There’s no denying it is a steep learning curve and it brings a lot of alien concepts about money that we never really learn about at school. However, once you learn the basics and practice them a couple of times, it’s not as daunting as you might think.

We wanted to set up The Bitcoin Manual to help newcomers in to this exciting world so you will find plenty of information about the basics in our ebook and more in depth material on the website.

Bitcoin is challenging the status quo and across the world and no country’s government or tax authority really knows how to treat it. New services and products in the space are moving quicker than the regulators can keep up with.

In the UK, Bitcoin is treated as an asset so if you’re not careful and start shitcoining, you could end up with hefty tax bills. This will all need to be considered in your planning stage.

Staying Safe

One thing we really hate here at TBM are stories where people have been scammed out of their Bitcoin or lost access to their Bitcoin wallet by not taking proper precautions.

Remember, the onus is on you and trusting 3rd parties with your Bitcoin isn’t always the best solution if you’ve been involved in Bitcoin for more than 6 months.

We’d like to think after 6 months of dipping your toes in, you should be able to take ownership of your own Bitcoin and keep that safely stored away on a hardware wallet.

Scams are sadly everywhere in this world, not just in Bitcoin so make sure you are prepared for all the tricks that these losers will try to get you to part with your Bitcoin.

We’ve created an extensive, but not exhaustive, list of what to look out for so you can focus on what matters – stacking sats.

Long Time Horizon

Your Bitcoin security is paramount and if you approach it with a long time horizon of at least 5 years (for me, it’s 10 years plus) then this also really helps quell any worries you have in the short term.

I’ve set myself up using a lot of the tips we have given to ensure that even if I was tempted to act impulsively, I’d have to travel to various vaults up and down the UK to do something about my impulse, making it too onerous.

Thinking long term and applying all these tactics mentioned means that my mind is in a better place when it comes to Bitcoin’s price volatility.

It takes a few months of immersing yourself and learning about Bitcoin, what it does and how it works. However, once it all starts to click, your approach to the price volatility will change for the better. It did for me anyway.