As a seasoned veteran of six years in the crypto space, I reflect on the last bull market: the crypto world is no longer suitable for diamond hands.

After experiencing the previous bull run, I gained the deepest insight: in today's crypto market, diamond hands actually lead to the greatest losses; the era of mindless long-term holding is completely over.

In the past crypto market, retail investors were the main players, and the market was simple and brutal, with a general rise in bull markets and a fall in bear markets. Back then, as long as you could hold on and endure, even if you were caught at a high, as long as you maintained faith and held long-term, there would eventually be a way to profit and break free. Therefore, "diamond hands, holding stubbornly without selling, and long-term accumulation" once became the widely accepted winning strategy in the crypto community. Everyone believed that as long as they didn't cut losses, losses were just paper losses.

But with the legalization of Bitcoin spot ETFs, everything about investment logic has been completely rewritten. A large number of traditional financial institutions have entered the market, fundamentally changing the capital structure, and the crypto space has officially entered an era of institutionalization and professionalism. Now, the market trend is no longer driven by retail sentiment, but by institutional funds, macroeconomic data, dollar liquidity, and regulatory compliance rhythms.

Institutional funds pursue high efficiency, high turnover, and low drawdowns, and will not hold onto assets blindly like retail investors. The pace of market rises and falls has accelerated, with extreme differentiation; the days of a broad bull market with widespread gains are gone. Mainstream cryptocurrencies have become less volatile, while altcoins experience rapid surges and crashes, with some collapsing to zero.

In this market environment, the biggest losers are actually those who stubbornly hold long-term with diamond hands.

In the last cycle, many steadfast holders who never cut losses not only failed to make money but also suffered long-term losses at high levels, repeatedly riding the roller coaster. High-quality coins stagnated sideways for a long time, wasting time and opportunity costs, while inferior coins continued to decline and shrink. Stubborn faith, ignoring market cycles, and refusing to take profits ultimately led to all profits being wiped out, and even deep losses.

Today’s crypto market no longer offers simple opportunities to sit back and win. The compliance of ETFs has brought regulation, but also brutal professional competition. The market is eliminating blind faith, mindless accumulation, and inflexible trading mindsets.

In the future, success in crypto will no longer depend on endurance alone, but on cognition, rhythm, risk control, and position management. The era of diamond hands is over; flexible trading, respecting market cycles, and rational profit-taking are the only ways to survive in this new era.