The Monkey Trap: My Painful Crypto Lesson

I got burned bad. Like really bad. There's this old tale about a scammer who tricked villagers with monkeys, and damn if I didn't fall into the same trap despite knowing better.

The story goes like this: Some clever bastard shows up in a village buying monkeys at rising prices - $10, $20, $40, then $50. The greedy villagers go nuts catching every monkey in sight, dreaming of easy riches.

Then? The buyer conveniently disappears. His assistant offers to sell those same monkeys back at $70, promising the boss will return to pay $100 each. The villagers empty their pockets to buy... and guess what? Both con men vanish, leaving these poor fools with worthless primates.

Sound familiar? It's exactly what these crypto pump-and-dump schemes do. I've watched it a thousand times, yet still fell victim myself.

I ignored my own damn rules and bought that stupid $TREE coin on that major exchange after it had already pumped 100% in one day. FOMO got me - plain and simple. Within hours I was down 5%. Could've been worse, but it stung because I KNEW BETTER.

The golden rule I broke? Never be the sucker holding the monkey.

This market is brutal. While "experts" keep pushing the next hot coin, smart money is already planning their exit. By the time retail traders like us jump in, whales are halfway to the Bahamas with our cash.

Don't chase pumps. Trade with a plan, not because some influencer hyped a coin. Emotion is your enemy in this game.

I see all these bright-eyed newcomers rushing into crypto, and I want to grab them by the shoulders and scream: "The monkey story! Remember the damn monkey story!"

What about you? Ever thrown your money into a pumping shitcoin only to watch it crash minutes later? We've all been there. Those cages full of worthless monkeys aren't just a story - they're our portfolios after FOMO takes the wheel.