Quitting Your Job for Crypto in this Bull Run? Learn from My Experiences
When the bull markets surge, it's easy to get excited as values go up faster than you think. In that state, you might want to quit your regular job or business to go all in on crypto for a living. My story, however, shows that quitting a reliable job to only follow these volatile markets can be risky if things go south. I'll share how leaving my regular job to pursue digital currencies during the last bull run cost me a lot.
Getting Hooked on Crypto
At the time, I ran a small local retail business as my main income source, and also blogged for extra cash. In March 2021, I decided to invest a little of the money I earned from blogging into cryptocurrency to test the water. I was amazed to see my small investment grew fast during the crypto boom. The joy of seeing my little investment grow into hundreds of dollars was incredible. This early success ignited my interest in cryptocurrency, and pushed me to explore the crypto space deeper.
In my keenness to further my knowledge and potentially increase my newfound fortune, I even invested in a laptop to facilitate my research on various projects and for smoother trading on decentralized exchanges. Soon, I found myself dedicating more and more time discovering additional crypto projects, letting my retail business slide. The substantial profits led me to think that I had hit a jackpot and could earn a living solely from crypto. That's when I ended up making the ill-judged decision to abandon my primary business and plunge completely into the crypto world, with the belief that the gains would continue pouring in.
Costly Mistakes
After quitting my main job, I jumped into the crypto world without enough knowledge. In my excitement and haste, I ignored important risk management steps and didn't do enough research before putting large sums into new projects. The idea of quick profit fooled me into investing carelessly in Projects that I knew little or nothing about. Soon, my rash actions led to losses, as some of those projects were scams and "rug pulls", whipping out a big chunk of my portfolio. The harsh truth of my unwise choices and rushed decisions was a hard lesson.
When the Tide Turned
Just as I was really all into crypto, the market suddenly changed. Towards the end of 2021, prices started to fall because of a new bear market. The high points from the bull period seemed like distant memories. But I was so caught up in it all, I forgot to take out any real profits from my rapidly growing portfolio.
As my brick-and-mortar store was no more, I found myself solely relying on my crypto assets for sustenance. My remaining crypto assets plummeted in value by more than 80% in just a few months, and this was my living bread. Adding salt to the wound, hackers drained my wallets of the little funds remaining. Suddenly, I was bereft of a job, a business, a substantial portfolio, and any trustworthy savings. For more than a year, I grappled with life without a stable income or any financial support.
Valuable Lessons Learned
As a result from that misfortune experiences, I learned how to properly do risk management and what speculative investing means. I understand how big the risk can be. Even though digital currencies are based on solid technology, they're very volatile, and carry big risks. It isn't wise to trust in them as your only source of income and wealth building.
Even during bull runs, maintaining stable traditional employment or an established business is important. Diversifying investments across different asset classes helps protect against downturns in any one area. Proper research, due diligence and securing assets are also mandatory to reduce vulnerabilities. Most importantly, taking profits at highs is key rather than getting greedy and watching gains brown off. While crypto still has a place in my portfolio, I'll never make the mistake again of abandoning steady work just to chase pumps and profits in virtual currencies alone.
A Cautionary Tale
I share my story in the hope it might prevent others from repeating my costly errors. The temptation to quit your job for crypto can be intense, but risk like price crashes could leave you in a very difficult position if you're not prepared. While gains may seem easy during bull markets, bear cycles are inevitable. It's always important to balance speculative plays with stable income sources and smart risk management practices. I hope my tale of regret serves as a warning signals for others not to abandon their safety nets too soon.
The lead image is from unsplash free images stocks.
