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Some words of advice for surviving yet another #bitcoin winter, from someone who's been through it all:

1) Do not invest what you cannot afford to lose, or if your temperament and risk tolerance cannot handle periods of extreme volatility. Volatility is often the price paid for superior performance, but there are no guarantees in life.

I've been a toxic #bitcoin maximalist since four figure BTC in the COVID crash, but BTC is just one piece of a broadly diversified multi-asset portfolio. It could go to zero tomorrow -- which it won't, by the way -- and neither my life nor my long-term financial outlook would meaningfully change (in fact, my overall portfolio is still solidly positive YTD).

Bottom line: don't go "all in" on anything, no matter how fervent your belief might be. To quote the inimitable @leadlagreport: "When an investment becomes a religion, it's time to lose faith."

2) You should expect price action like this for the forseeable future as institutional adoption continues.

Here is a summary of recent BTC price declines:
2011 Mt. Gox flash Crash: -99% ($32 to $0.01)
2013–2015: -86.2% ($1,163 to $178)
2017–2018: -84.1% ($19,783 to $3,217)
2021–2022: -77.3% (69,000 to $15,476)
2025–2026: -53.2%, tbd ($126,210 to $59,100 at low)

This is simply part of the process. If you can't handle it, Bitcoin is not for you. Now is not the time for panic, but to begin carefully assessing for opportunity.

3) Don't even look at the price unless you are actively adjusting your portfolio and looking at overall composition and relative weightings. Don't use leverage. Basically, don't be an idiot and continue enjoying your life. More wealth was lost selling Bitcoin fearing its demise than was ever made trying to perfectly time a top or bottom.

4) If you're even remotely serious about Bitcoin's potential, it is likely that at least some part of your identity has become inextricably intertwined with it. Your family and friends have probably asked you about it. Whenever we are in a bull market, many of them will be conspicuously silent, or make unsolicited declarations about the "BTC bubble," opining on its inevitable demise.

And, when the inevitable bear markets arrive, you will likely receive a variety of unsolicited comments about its recent poor performance. Some are in good faith, asking if now is a good time to buy or sharing investment ideas. However, others will seem to clearly delight in your misfortune. You will be shocked by the degree to which people will hold on to things and weaponize them later, and/or indulge petty resentments. This toxicity is on full display on X, and will come as a surprise to no one reading this.

My advice is to recognize that most of the people who behave like this in real life are not really your friends, do not have your best interests at heart, and to utilize the grey rock method with them or, ideally, cut them out of your life entirely. When the pendulum swings the other way, as it does, they will not deserve to share in your continued happiness and success.

5) However, as contradictory as it may initially seem, I do not advise blocking anyone on X, as fellow class of 2020 BTC crash OG investor @LynAldenContact has commented on similarly in the past. Avoid become overly insulated in BTC maximalist echo chambers that never challenge your assumptions. Embrace the "I’m not locked in here with you, you’re locked in here with me” Rorschach mentality and welcome steelmanning of your core investing principles. It's easy enough to differentiate good faith dialogue from malicious attacks, and easier still to simply smile and tune out the latter.

6) In summary: stay humble, and keep stacking sats.