Part 1 of 12 in the Crypto Survival Guide Series
If you’re reading this, your crypto portfolio probably isn’t doing great.
Neither is mine. That’s why I wrote this guide.
Let me guess: Your portfolio is red. Maybe deeply red. Your liquidity pool positions aren’t performing like you thought they would. That Discord server that was so bullish three months ago is now just spam bots and crickets. And somewhere in your browser history is a YouTube video titled “How I Made $10K in One Week With DeFi” that now feels like a personal attack.
What This Series Is NOT
This isn’t a “rah rah, we’re all gonna make it” hype fest. I’m not going to tell you that “smart money accumulates during bear markets” while conveniently ignoring that you’re bleeding out right now. And I’m definitely not selling you a $997 course on how to trade dog coins or whatever the grift-of-the-month is.
What This Series IS
Twelve posts over the next couple weeks with practical, honest strategies for navigating a market that has stopped being fun. We’re talking about assessing what you’ve actually got, managing the psychological toll, making strategic decisions (including exits—yes, sometimes you should sell), and positioning yourself for whatever comes next without losing your sanity in the meantime.
I’ve been doing this liquidity pool thing for about 14 months now. I’ve made good calls and bad ones.
Early on, I had a coach who told me not to put too much into pools with less-than-stellar tokens. Solid advice, right? But I thought I’d found something special—a token that everyone else was sleeping on, with fees that would make it all worthwhile.
I was not smarter than my coach. I was not early. I was wrong.
My portfolio is still recovering from that hit.
So yeah, I get it. I’ve been the person convinced they’d figured out an edge. I’ve been the person checking prices at 2 AM. I’ve been the person wondering if I should just cut my losses or if that’s “giving up.”
What to Expect from This Series
- Honesty without sugar-coating. If something’s a bad idea, I’ll tell you.
- Snark, because if we can’t laugh, we’ll cry. And I’m tired of crying.
- Action items you can actually use, not vague “do your own research” platitudes.
- Permission to make hard choices, including walking away from positions that aren’t working.
Over the next 12 posts, we’ll work through:
- Taking honest stock of where you are (assessing your actual positions)
- The psychology of holding (and when you shouldn’t)
- When conviction becomes hope (knowing the difference)
- Strategic exits and tax considerations that might help
- Defensive positioning that doesn’t require genius-level timing
- How to find yield without getting destroyed
- Actually learning something useful during the down time
- Building a plan for whatever comes next
- The long game and what sustainable crypto investing actually means
- Your survival checklist with tactical takeaways
- Final thoughts on what this journey taught me beyond the money
Before We Dive In
You’re not alone in this. You’re not stupid for being here. And there are ways forward that don’t involve pretending everything’s fine or rage-quitting crypto entirely.
We’ll get into the real work starting with Part 2, where we do a proper portfolio assessment—looking at what you’ve got with clear eyes, not hopium.
For now? Take a breath. Close the price charts if you need to. We’ve got this.
