What matters more than the market situation right now is livelihood

In Saturday's online discussion, I shared a perspective with everyone:

Right now, we don't need to worry too much about the market; what we need to care about is our livelihood.

The continuous decline in the market has shattered the psychological bottom line of many investors. Many probably didn't expect Bitcoin to drop below $60,000 again, or Ethereum to fall below $3,000 again.

In my view, this short-term decline of Bitcoin and Ethereum is not something to worry about at all, because I remain firmly confident about their future in the long run. As long as most of our positions are in these two coins, we can calmly view this short-term market crash. I firmly believe they will reach new highs again in the near future.

What I think is truly worth our attention as ordinary people is the potential changes in our living environment over the next year (until 2025) or even three years (until 2027), and whether we can protect our assets and maintain our livelihoods amid these changes.

If we pay a little attention to various data and observe the changes around us, we should be able to feel that the overall environment is becoming increasingly harsh.

In Saturday's discussion, I mentioned one point:

The environment we are living in is unlikely to see significant improvement before the end of 2025. In such an environment, how many businesses can last another year and a half? If companies struggling with internal competition find it hard to survive, even the so-called iron rice bowl of public institutions will certainly be affected.

Therefore, among our readers, anyone who still needs to earn a salary will be somewhat impacted.

Thus, I reiterated a phrase I have emphasized many times before: always keep enough funds to support yourself for 18 months.

During the subsequent Q&A session, a friend's experience resonated with me deeply.

This friend's mood sounded quite low.

He has a small position in Bitcoin and Ethereum but has heavily invested in other projects.

The reason he didn't focus on Bitcoin and Ethereum is that he feels their price increases are too small.

Throughout the discussion, this friend repeatedly emphasized his fear of missing out on opportunities.

He also mentioned a past experience—during what I consider a speculative operation, he lost all the accumulated profits.

What is even more unsettling is that this friend unfortunately encountered a company layoff.

Some of this friend's mindset and experiences were ones I had in the past.

For example, being very afraid of missing opportunities, which makes it easy to feel anxious about gains and losses.

I still want to say: don't worry about missing opportunities. At least in the crypto ecosystem, as long as you can hold your ground, survive tenaciously, and continuously improve yourself, there will definitely be opportunities.

On the contrary, this fear of missing opportunities can easily lead investors astray—the most typical example is thinking that a certain trap is an opportunity, leading to heavy investments and ultimately losing everything.

I believe this friend is still very young, and the future will hold opportunities for him.

Another example is thinking that the price increases of Bitcoin and Ethereum are not significant enough.

Many altcoins have indeed seen much larger increases than Bitcoin and Ethereum, but in reality, those who have participated should have experienced that very few investors can truly seize the explosive growth of altcoins; most participants end up as collateral damage in the process.

From my experience, when investors focus on Bitcoin and Ethereum, their mindset changes, becoming more stable and rational, better able to cope with various storms and risks. At the same time, they will also have more courage and confidence to participate in various high-risk projects. At that time, they won't worry about missing opportunities.

What worries me most about this friend is that he unfortunately encountered a layoff.

In the current environment, anyone facing such an incident will face considerable challenges in finding a job that matches their skills, education, and salary expectations in a short period. They will likely have to confront more pressures from life and society. If these pressures are not managed well, it will be impossible to maintain a good mindset and emotions to achieve success in other areas (including the crypto ecosystem).

I suggest this friend first set aside the crypto ecosystem, withdraw some funds back to reality, and ensure that he and his family can maintain a stable life for the time being. Then, he should quickly find a job to secure his and his family's livelihood. After handling these matters, if he still has the energy, he can return to the crypto ecosystem to continue exploring.

This friend's experience may seem like someone else's story today, but it is likely to happen more and more to you, me, and others in the future.

Compared to the pressure of making a living, the fluctuations in the crypto market are really not a big deal.

I hope every reader can prepare for the challenges and risks that may lie ahead.