It's been four years in crypto, and I have been mostly profitable until recently. It hasn't been so smooth, though.
I have suffered a number of rug pulls, once had one of my wallets botted, and was scammed by a paid group leader. But I was always profitable.
The Good Times
I come from a family with a modest background, and my father always taught me to treat money with respect. I always did, even when I got into crypto.
I never made huge returns, but I always made profits. Isn't that what matters most? I used crypto profits to renovate my father's house, and also opened a provision store for my mother.
I wasn't living large, but I was comfortable. My ruthless approach to the market helped me a lot. I traded spot only, and I never bought any meme coins or newly launched coins.
Problem Upon Problem
I lost my day job due to COVID. But I was able to manage well with profits from trading. With increased responsibilities, the pressure to make more money kept increasing.
One evening, a close friend was in a tough financial situation. He reached out to me for help, but I was unable to. I felt bad, but there's nothing I can do about it.
My younger brother is now at the University, and he needs my support. I want to be his big brother in any way I can.
I Had To Take On More Risks
"I am a profitable trader", I thought to myself. "What if I just used leverage, just a bit? I will be able to make more money and meet my responsibilities". This was my thinking at the time.
I started using leverage and stuck to using no more than 3x. It was going well for me, and I was happy. I sent some money to my brother to assist with school fees, and he was grateful.
I led myself to believe I could make more money if I increased leverage. I increased to 5x, and soon I was using 10x leverage. I was making money here and there but also losing some.
Overall, it wasn't so bad.
I Blew It
I got so comfortable with using 10x leverage that I began thinking of using higher leverage. I tried 20x once and made 20% in a 1% move.
So I thought I'd take profit for every 1% move. I would be disciplined and stick to the plan.
I opened a 20x long one day, and I was looking at the chart. I noticed the chart wasn't moving anymore at some point. It had to be network issues, and it was.
I couldn't close the trade or do anything else. The network was horrible for almost 30 minutes. By the time the network was stable, I quickly opened my Exchange app to see what was going on.
There was a huge sell-off in the market, and I lost 75% of my portfolio.
Ever since then, I have never used leverage again.
If you enjoyed this story, do give it a like and share with others around you. Here at #Admiano I share crypto lessons in the form of stories, along with other analysis and market insights. Do well to check them out.
And while you're there, do well to follow me. Catch you later!
