The Three Digit Tragedy: A Story Full of Hope, FOMO, and Sacrifice

There are three phases in the life of a beginner crypto trader:

1. The belief that one is smarter than the market.
2. Deep regret that the market does not seem to care.
3. A long prayer after buying at the peak then getting stuck.

And this story includes all three.

Initially, Bitcoin was at $112,000.
I sit up straight, wearing headset ( although I am not listening to anything ), staring seriously at the candlestick chart.
Feeling like Warren Buffet reborn on Binance.

"I'm not going to buy now. I'm not a stupid retail investor. I'm waiting at $110,000. That's where the strong support is."
I told myself while opening YouTube: "Bitcoin Next Move? Analyst Reaction"
— yet in the end I still don't understand.

Then Bitcoin rises.
$113k...
I am still calm.
$115k...
I'm starting to feel restless, biting the end of my pen.
$118k...
I refresh CoinMarketCap every 3 minutes.
$120k...
I started to reassess all the life principles and trading techniques that I got from a random Twitter thread by a user named "CryptoMaster007".

$123k.
That is the peak. Not the peak price. The peak of the ego that has collapsed.
I stared at the screen while saying,
"I should have bought at $112k. Why did I wait for it to go lower? That correction is a myth."
I cry in silence like an empty Metamask wallet.

But hope comes. A small correction.
Bitcoin dropped to $120,000.
And I, with a combination of revenge and FOMO, finally bought.
With great enthusiasm, I press the "Buy" button.
Limit order? No. Market order. Let's go.

"Now I'm safe. This is a correction price. It won't drop more than this."
I smile.
I updated my story: "Finally made it in… Let's go to the moon 🚀 HODL"

30 minutes later...
BTC: $119,000.
I remain calm. It's called the market. Ups and downs are normal.

1 hour later...
BTC: $118,000.
I refresh the chart every second. Every red candle is a psychological blow.

In the evening...
BTC: $117,000.
I opened the MyPertamina app and checked my Dana balance. Who knows, I might be able to add capital to buy dip.
Unfortunately, the balance is only enough to buy instant noodles and data quota.

Now I sit in contemplation.
Not because of the Bitcoin. But because of the lesson price:
Ego + Hope + FOMO = Stuck.

Buy when it's red, sell when it's green, they say.
But we, the candlestick warriors, more often buy when it's green and get stuck when it's red.
Because it's not the market that's wrong...
But we are too confident that we are smarter than the algorithms that even know when we get paid.