I just realized something interesting—the investment psychology in crypto is actually exactly the same as the “Five Poisons” mentioned in Buddhism: greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt. And this is precisely why so many people can’t make it to the end of a rally.

Starting with greed—the fear of missing the top, the fear of not taking profits when prices rise. I’ve seen this happen constantly, especially when the market heats up. People just want to FOMO in, forgetting that the peak never lasts forever.

Then comes anger—when they face failure, people become extremely furious. They curse analysts and liquidate to cut losses irrationally. This is the biggest mistake in the early and middle stages of a bull market. This impulsiveness causes them to miss opportunities for real profit.

Ignorance—being ignorant and unwilling to learn. I’ve met too many people who just follow the crowd without understanding anything about the project or the market. They don’t want to research; they just want to follow the trend.

Arrogance is no less dangerous, too—looking down on others and believing they’re smarter than the market. This is the fastest way to end up losing money.

And finally, doubt—being indecisive, always wavering between buying and not buying. When the market goes up, they still doubt; when the market goes down, that’s when they finally take action. But it’s already too late.

Looking back, these five poisons—tham sân si mạn nghi—are the biggest enemies of any investor. If you can’t control your mindset, then no matter how good your strategy is, it’s useless. So the most important thing isn’t to hunt for the next coin—it’s to figure out how to overcome these poisons.