"XRP? Seriously?"
That's what my colleague said. 2022. Bitcoin had just crashed from 69,000 to 16,000. Half the crypto world was on fire. And I was buying XRP.
Not once. Not twice. Every month. Like a punching bag that doesn't understand it's supposed to fall down.
0.80 dollars. That was my average price. Over years.
Why am I telling you this? Because this story is the exact opposite of my FARTBOY story. There: adrenaline, 60x in weeks, everything lost. Here: boredom, 3 years of waiting, clean exit.
And guess which trade made more in the end.
In this article I'll show you:
- Why I bought XRP (and why everyone thought I was crazy)
- What 3 years of patience really means
- The moment I sold — and why
- What FARTBOY and XRP together reveal about trading
Buckle up. Although — for this story, sitting down is enough.
Why XRP?
I'll say it upfront: I'm not an XRP maximalist. I have no theory about why Ripple will change the world. And I don't have a crystal ball.
What I had: a thesis.
XRP had dropped massively. From over 3 dollars (2018) to under 50 cents. The SEC lawsuit was running. Everyone hated XRP. Twitter was full of "XRP is dead."
And that was exactly the point.
When EVERYONE hates something, the price is often already below fundamental value. Not always. But often enough.
My decision: No all-in. No timing. Just a fixed amount every month. Like a savings plan. Boring. Systematic.
DCA on XRP. Over years.
What 3 Years of Patience Really Means
You think "3 years" is a number. Let me show you what 3 years REALLY means.
Months 1-6: You buy. XRP drifts around 40-50 cents. Nothing happens. You wonder if you're an idiot.
Months 7-12: XRP briefly rises to 60 cents. Then back to 40. Your portfolio is in the red. Your colleague asks: "So? Rich yet?" You say: "No." He grins.
Months 13-24: The bear market drags on. Bitcoin under 20,000. XRP under 40 cents. Your average price drops. That's GOOD — you're buying cheap. But it FEELS bad. Every month: more money in, portfolio in the red.
Months 25-30: Slowly the mood shifts. Bitcoin recovers. XRP follows. Your portfolio is in the green for the first time. Not by much. But in the green.
Months 31-36: The SEC lawsuit gets clarity. XRP explodes. 1 dollar. 1.50. 2 dollars.
And now — NOW — comes the moment that counts.
The Sale
XRP is at 2.40 dollars. My average purchase: 0.80 dollars. That's 3x.
Not 60x like FARTBOY. No adrenaline. No phone at 3 AM.
But: 3x on a position I'd built over years. With real money. Not with 2,500 Francs of play money.
And this time I press the button.
I sell. Half. At 2.40.
No FOMO. No "what if it's 3 dollars tomorrow?" I reached my target. I defined BEFOREHAND when I'd sell. And I DID it.
The money? Went straight into my trading bot. 6,000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Now working systematically for me.
FARTBOY vs XRP: What the Two Trades Reveal Together
I wrote these two stories on purpose. Because together they show the most important pattern in trading:
| FARTBOY | XRP | |
|---|---|---|
| Investment | 2,500 CHF | Several thousand over years |
| Peak | 178,000 CHF | 3x my investment |
| Realized | ~20,000 CHF (too late) | Clean exit at 2.40 |
| Timeframe | Weeks | 3 years |
| Emotions | Adrenaline, FOMO, panic | Boredom, doubt, patience |
| Lesson | Unrealized gains ≠ money | Plan > emotion |
With FARTBOY I had no plan. No exit. Just hope. And hope is not a strategy.
With XRP I had a plan. Purchase price. Target price. Exit rule. And when the moment came, I acted.
Remember: The best trade isn't the one with the highest number on your screen. It's the one where you press the button.
The Realization That Changed Everything
After FARTBOY and XRP I understood something that changed my entire approach to trading:
I'm good at FINDING. But bad at ACTING.
I can spot a good opportunity. I can analyze data. I can build a thesis. I'm good at that.
But in the moment of decision — buy or not, sell or hold — I'm human. With fear. With greed. With FOMO. And humans are BAD at real-time decisions under pressure.
So I outsourced the decisions. To a bot. The bot has no FOMO. No sleepless nights. No grinning colleagues.
It has rules. And it follows them. Always.
That's not sexy. It's not exciting. There are no 3-AM stories.
But it works.
What You Should Take Away
Two stories. Two trades. One lesson:
-
Define your exit BEFORE you enter. Not afterwards. Not "when it feels right." BEFORE.
-
Realize profits in stages. Not all at once. Not all at the end. But along the way. At 3x, at 5x, at 10x.
-
If you catch yourself checking your portfolio at 3 AM — you have too much risk.
-
Boring beats exciting. Every time. Over years.
I would have preferred to learn this lesson for 0 Francs. Instead it cost me 140,000 Francs.
Now you get it for free.
→ How I Didn't Sell at 178,000 — The full FARTBOY story
→ My Rule #1: Take Out What I Put In — So you sleep better
→ HODL Beats 27 Out of 30 Strategies — The sobering result
→ DCA Savings Plan Calculator — Calculate your own savings plan
→ What's the Bot Saying Right Now? — Current signal
Your Dominic, the guy who didn't sell at 178,000 but did sell at 2.40. Both instructive. But only one of them smart.
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile. My XRP story is not a buy signal for XRP. Only invest what you can afford to lose.
