Author：深潮TechFlow

Faced with the recent dramatic volatility in the crypto market, a veteran with 38 years of market experience and 13 years of deep involvement in the crypto space shares his journey. He has witnessed Bitcoin's meteoric rise from $200 to $75,000, and experienced countless dark moments of 50% or even 80% net worth drawdowns. Through this article, he conveys a core concept to investors feeling despair and anger: in a long-term secular bull market, volatility is a necessary "entry tax," and true wealth often belongs to those "fools" who can overcome their instincts, steadfastly accumulate shares during panic, and hold them for the long term.

The market feels incredibly brutal right now, seemingly hopeless. It's all over. You missed your chance. You've messed things up again.

Everyone is filled with anger and confusion. Those who foresaw this might be relieved, but many can also see how deeply such price volatility can hurt people. It feels like the worst of times.

I've been in the market for 38 years (today's sell-off is a nice birthday present, coinciding with my food poisoning last night!), and I've seen all types of crashes and panics.

They all feel the same: damn awful.

I started getting into cryptocurrencies in 2013. That's when I first bought BTC at $200.

After a brief rally, it dropped -75%... and this happened during a bull market that ultimately brought it up to more than 10 times my entry price. I didn't sell because it was a long-term investment, and I was aware of the risks.

Then, during the 2014 bear market, it plummeted another -87%.

During the ensuing 2017 bull market, I experienced three brutal sell-offs ranging from -35% to -45%...it was brutal. Due to the Bitcoin fork wars at the time, I finally exited at $2,000 (the previous high from 2013).

By then, my original investment had made 10 times its initial investment. However, by the end of that year, it had risen another 10 times (!!) before another long and ugly bear market began.

I successfully avoided that entire bear market, which felt fantastic.

But I made a costly mistake: in an attempt to "do the right thing" (buy the dip), I re-bought in at $6,500 during the 2020 COVID-19 crash—3.5 times higher than when I sold.

In 2021, BTC also experienced a -50% drop from April to July, and market sentiment was very similar to what it is now. The atmosphere on Twitter was extremely negative. Really negative. But the market wasn't actually as oversold back then as it is today…

By November 2021, the market had returned to all-time highs. SOL rebounded 13 times from its lows, ETH doubled, and BTC hit a new high, rebounding 150%.

I witnessed it all. Every heartbreaking, agonizing moment occurred within a major, secular bull market.

My initial purchase price was $200. The current price is $65,000. I even missed out on a 3.5x gain by trying to time the market (which I did terribly).

First key lesson: (For me) the best approach with a secularly rising asset is to "do nothing." HODL (Hold Long) is a meme for a reason; it's far more powerful than the so-called "four-year cycle" theory.

Second lesson: Aggressively add to positions during sell-offs. Even if I don't perfectly time the bottom, increasing my total position by averaging into weakness in a weak market generates a huge compounding effect over time, even more effective than Directed Averaging Down (DCA).

I don't always have enough cash to buy large amounts during every sell-off, but I always buy a little, because it helps train your mental fortitude.

In moments like these, you always feel like you've missed an opportunity, that the bull market is over, and everything is ruined forever. That's not the case.

Ask yourself two questions:

Will tomorrow be more digital than today?

Will fiat currency be worth less in the future than it is today?

If the answer to both questions is yes, then move on. Buy on dips (BTFD), letting "time in the market" beat "market timing," because the former always wins. Adding to your position during sharp sell-offs lowers your average cost basis at higher levels, which makes a huge difference.

On this journey, stress, fear, and self-doubt are the "taxes" you should expect.

Position sizing is crucial to an individual's risk tolerance. Don't worry, everyone feels overweight when prices fall and underweight when prices rise. You just need to manage these emotions and find your own balance.

Another key thing is: don't "rent" other people's beliefs. DYOR (Do Your Own Research) is a very important principle. Without it, you won't be able to get through these difficult times. Earn your own beliefs. Rented beliefs are like leverage, which can wipe you out at any time.

Remember—when you're busy blaming others, you're actually just blaming yourself.

Yes, the outside world feels dark right now. But the sun will rise again soon, and this is just another scar on your journey (as long as you don't use leverage! Leverage leads to permanent capital loss because you lose your chips in the casino). Never lose your chips.

When will all this be over? I don't know, but I think it's more like what happened from April to November 2021—a panic in a bull market. I think it will end soon. If I'm wrong, I won't change my approach; I'll simply add to my position when I have cash.

But for you, the situation might be different. Try to build a "least regret portfolio." Can you afford another 50% drop from here? If not, reduce your position, even if it feels foolish right now. Having the right mindset is key to survival. My mindset has shifted to "how to buy more," while yours might be the opposite.

There will always be some market gurus who can precisely avoid sell-offs or shorting. There are definitely such people. But honestly, you just need to tell yourself that these fluctuations are always expected. When you anticipate the volatility, you won't feel stressed when it happens! It becomes part of the story, not the whole story.

I'm now starting to buy more digital art (which also increases my ETH holdings) and plan to increase my crypto asset allocation next week, just like I've done every time an opportunity has arisen.

I bought during the COVID-19 sell-off, and I bought during every sell-off in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025! I will do the same this time. Each time, my profit and loss (P&L) has hit new highs before the market. It works like magic. Again… BTFD (Buy the Dip)!

Good luck. This is never easy.

Volatility is the price we pay for this kind of long-term compounding asset. Embrace it.

Author: Raoul Pal