It's 3 AM. I'm lying in bed checking my portfolio.
178,000 Swiss Francs.
I read the number three times. Physics teacher salary. Three kids. And there's a number on my phone that's more than I earn in a year.
My thumb hovers over the "Sell" button.
I don't press it.
Why am I telling you this? Because this story isn't an isolated case. Because you — yes, you — would do the exact same thing in that situation. And because I want to show you what FOMO really costs. Not in theory. In Francs.
In this article you'll learn:
- How 2,500 CHF (Swiss Francs) turned into 180,000 within weeks
- Why I didn't sell (and why YOU wouldn't have either)
- What was left in the end
- The one rule I built from this
Let's go.
The Beginning: 2,500 Francs and a Coin Called FARTBOY
I'll be honest: I didn't buy FARTBOY because I did an analysis. I bought it because the name was funny and some guy on Telegram posted it.
2,500 Francs. Play money. Money I was willing to lose.
The first few days: nothing. The coin just sits there. I almost forget about it.
Then it starts climbing.
+100%. Okay, nice.
+500%. Wait a second.
+2,000%. What's happening here?
+6,000%.
My investment of 2,500 Francs is suddenly worth over 150,000 Francs. There's a six-figure number in my portfolio. And the coin keeps rising.
The Night of 178,000 Francs
It's that night. 3 AM. Phone glowing. 178,000 Francs.
And now comes the part that nobody tells you on Twitter.
I don't think: "Insane, I should sell."
I think: "What if it's 200,000 tomorrow?"
That's FOMO. Fear Of Missing Out. But not the FOMO you know — the fear of missing something. No. This is a different kind. The fear of missing the REST of the gains. You've already won. And you want MORE.
My brain does a simple calculation: "If the coin goes up another 20%, I'll have over 200,000. If I sell now, I'll miss 20,000 Francs."
What my brain does NOT calculate: "If the coin drops 80%, I'll have 36,000."
That's the thinking error. You focus on what you COULD gain. Not on what you COULD lose. And you overlook the most obvious thing: you already have 7,000% profit. You've WON. The game is over. Go home.
But I don't go home.
The Crash
You know what comes next.
The coin turns. First slowly. Then fast. Then brutally.
-20%. "Just a correction."
-40%. "It'll come back."
-60%. "I'm not selling NOW. Not at -60%."
-80%. Silence.
My portfolio shows 40,000 Francs. Down from 178,000.
140,000 Francs. Gone. In a few weeks.
The entire roller coaster in one chart. Hover over the data points and you'll see what I felt at each moment:
And the crazy thing? I still had 1,500% profit. 2,500 Francs had turned into 40,000. That's an INCREDIBLE trade. Objectively.
But it doesn't feel that way.
It feels like a loss of 140,000 Francs.
Why You Would Have Done the Same Thing
Maybe you're thinking: "I would have sold at 100,000."
No. You wouldn't have.
And I'll tell you why.
First: You had no price target. I didn't go in with a plan: "At 50x I sell." I went in with 2,500 Francs and the feeling: "Let's see what happens." Without an exit plan you're at the mercy of your emotions. And emotions always say: "Just a little more."
Second: Everyone around you is holding. On Telegram, on Twitter — everyone writes "HODL!" and "Diamond Hands!" and "Anyone selling now is weak." Social pressure in real time. You don't want to be the loser who sold too early.
Third: The numbers become abstract. You can FEEL 2,500 Francs. 178,000 Francs on a screen? That's a number. Not real. You never held the money in your hands. And what you've never held hurts less to lose.
What I REALLY Learned
Not "memecoins are bad." They are what they are — casino chips with an internet connection. I knew that beforehand.
What I learned is something different:
Unrealized gains are not your money.
The 178,000 Francs on my screen were never MY 178,000 Francs. They were a possibility. A promise. Only when you press "Sell" does the number become money.
I realized a portion. 20,000 Francs. Real money. Into my bank account. That was good.
But I should have realized more. MUCH more.
Remember: A profit on your screen doesn't belong to you. It only belongs to you when it's in your bank account.
The Rule I Built from This
Today I have a fixed rule. Not for memecoins — for those I use a trading bot that has no emotions. But the rule applies to everything:
Sell in stages.
- At 5x profit: sell 20%. Investment is out. The rest is free money.
- At 10x profit: sell another 30%. You've now realized serious money.
- At 20x profit: sell another 30%.
- The last 20%? Those can go to zero. Doesn't matter. You've already won.
If I had applied this rule to FARTBOY:
| Point | Action | Realized |
|---|---|---|
| 5x (12,500 CHF) | Sell 20% | 2,500 CHF |
| 10x (25,000 CHF) | Sell 30% | 7,500 CHF |
| 20x (50,000 CHF) | Sell 30% | 15,000 CHF |
| 60x (150,000 CHF) | Remaining 20% | 30,000 CHF |
| Total realized | 55,000 CHF |
55,000 Francs instead of panic-holding down to 40,000.
And you know what the best part is? If the coin KEEPS rising, you still have 20% in the game. You're not missing anything. You've just stopped HOPING and started ACTING.
Why My Bot Does This Better Than I Can
After this experience I understood something: I am not rational. Not at 3 AM. Not when six-figure numbers are on my screen. Nobody is.
So I built a bot. The bot has no emotions. No FOMO. No sleepless nights. It follows rules. Period.
The bot would not have bought FARTBOY — it doesn't trade the casino. But for Bitcoin it does something far more valuable: it buys when the data says "buy," and sells when the data says "sell." Without overthinking. Without hoping.
In 6 years of backtesting it earned more than HODL. Not because it's smarter. But because it doesn't stare at its phone at 3 AM thinking: "What if it's more tomorrow?"
In case you want to know how the bot does it — not the WHAT, but the HOW MUCH:
→ Musical Chairs: The Truth About Memecoins — Who pays for your profit?
→ My Rule #1: Take Out What I Put In — So you sleep better
→ 3 Years of XRP: Patience Beats FOMO — The exact opposite of this story
→ DCA Savings Plan Calculator — Calculate your own savings plan
→ What's the Bot Saying Right Now? — Current signal
Write me if you have a similar story. I bet you do.
Your Dominic, the guy who had 178,000 Francs on his screen and didn't sell. So you can do better.
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. Memecoins are highly speculative and can lose their entire value. Only invest what you can afford to lose. This story is my personal experience — your results will be different.
