### Holding Bitcoin: Lessons Learned Since Early 2017
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1. **Never trust anyone’s price predictions.**
2. **Don't "diversify" into other crypto ventures; none are truly decentralized.** Everything except Bitcoin is essentially a scam (yes, really), and it's all gambling. The purpose of Bitcoin is not to gamble, but to end modern slavery (fiat currency).
3. **When everyone you know is talking about Bitcoin, you’re at the peak of the bull market.** You’re probably too excited to realize it, but it will be obvious in hindsight.
4. **Don't "trade some altcoins for more Bitcoin."** You’re not that smart, and you're more likely to lose.
5. **DCA (Dollar-Cost Average) into Bitcoin.** Ignore your emotions. Don’t try to time the market. Just stack what you can from each paycheck.
6. **Don't get too excited about Bitcoin;** people will feel like you’re trying to scam them even though you’re just trying to help.
7. **Attend meetups and conferences.** Don’t isolate yourself. Bitcoiners are generally very cool people.
8. **When people ask how to buy Bitcoin, refer them to a Bitcoin-only company.** For example: My cousin bought Bitcoin (on Coinbase) during the bull market, then traded it for Shiba on the same platform and now has lost almost everything. Bitcoin-only companies are the safest option to prevent beginners from making beginner mistakes.
9. **Be on #BitcoinTwitter and Nostr.** Obviously, if you’re reading this, you’re already here... but I didn’t get on Twitter until 2020, and I can tell you that holding Bitcoin feels less lonely when you see a bunch of other people on the platform experiencing the same things as you.
10. **Be skeptical of influencers.** Even me (I’m not a big account, but still). Some are good, some are bad. Even if they have good intentions, their judgment can be clouded by bad incentives.
11. **Stop trying to convince everyone you know that Bitcoin will make everything better (even though it will).** Instead, be a good resource for people who eventually reach out to you about it. .
