$ETH
The biggest mistake most people make in crypto? Treating **altcoins** like "money-making machines" during altseason hype and **holding** them forever thinking they'll moon again next cycle.
**Spoiler: Most won't. Ever.**
Look back at 2020-2021 — the classic altseason frenzy. People loaded up on "blue-chip" alts like Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), VeChain (VET), Polkadot (DOT), Algorand (ALGO), Chainlink (LINK), FLOW(FLOW )
and countless others hyped as "the next big thing."
Fast forward to today (January 2026):
- Many of these are still **60-90% down** from their 2021 ATHs.
- A huge chunk of top performers from that era **never recovered** — and analysts warn most altcoins simply **won't survive** the next few years due to poor tokenomics, competition from newer chains, and zero real adoption.
- Even "strong" ones like ADA, DOT, and ALGO are miles below their peaks, with no sign of flipping those highs anytime soon.
People who held through the bear market thinking "it'll come back" got wrecked. They lost **99%** (or close to it) on many bags — money they will **never recover in their lifetime** because the market has moved on. New narratives (AI, memes, RWAs, etc.) eat the old ones alive. Institutional money flows mostly to **Bitcoin** now, not random alts.
**Never hold any altcoin long-term.**
Treat them like what they are: high-risk, high-reward **trades**.
- Pump → Take profits fast.
- Dump → Cut losses and rotate.
- Never fall in love with a token or "conviction-hold" into oblivion.
Bitcoin has gone from ~$7k in early 2020 to around **$91k** today — that's real, sustained growth. Altcoins? Mostly gambling.
If you're still bag-holding dead alts waiting for the magical altseason revival... let it go. Accept the loss, learn the lesson, and stop repeating the cycle.
What's your worst altcoin regret from 2021? Drop it below — let's see how many are still bleeding. 😤
