Original Article Title: Pockets of Strength: stop fighting the market
Original Article Author: mikeykremer, MessariCrypto CTO
Original Article Translation: Ashley, BlockBeats

Editor's Note: The article delves into how to stay calm and rational in volatility, by identifying the market's strength and weakness signals, and adjusting strategies in response to the complex market environment. The article emphasizes that successful traders are not always right in their predictions, but rather know how to manage risk, quickly set stop-loss orders, and follow market trends. At the same time, the author points out that in a narrative-driven market, independent thinking and continuous reflection are particularly important. For all crypto investors, only by maintaining humility, vigilance, and adaptability can they stand undefeated in a competitive market.

The following is the original content (rearranged for better readability):

Alpha First

· Let the market tell you which coins are strong and weak – buy confirmed strong coins, sell weak ones. You don't have to be the first to enter, but you also must not be the last.

· Do your research: Find coins that contradict your assumptions and try to understand the reasons behind them.

· Go solo: If you rely solely on copy trading, the end result will not be ideal.

The Market is Right, You Are Wrong

Indeed, you can earn the most profit by investing and trading against market sentiment. Ideally, we all want to buy at the market bottom and sell at the top. However, this scenario is not realistic. If people were more willing to act in line with market trends, they could avoid much unnecessary pain. It is very reasonable to increase positions in coins that have risen by more than 40% in a day and sell off coins that have dropped by over 10% for several consecutive days.

· The market never makes mistakes: The market never makes mistakes, only individual viewpoints are wrong. This means that no matter how you think the market should operate, the actual market trend is the ultimate reality.

· Profit is the ultimate validation of correctness: Correctness does not mean predicting market trends, but whether you can make a profit. A trader may be correct in their market direction judgment, but may incur losses due to improper execution or timing. The true standard of correctness is whether the trades are profitable, not how accurate the predictions were.

Instead of trying to predict market reversals, successful traders tend to identify and follow strong areas in the market. This means: being willing to buy assets that have already risen significantly, quickly stop-loss when market sentiment shifts, and avoiding further adding to losing positions.

The most successful traders focus not on always being right, but on effectively managing risk. This includes: taking profits in a timely manner, not hodling through major retracements, and being willing to re-enter after exiting.

Price action is the only truth in the market. When your position is not in your favor, the market is sending you a message: your assumption may be wrong. A disciplined approach is to accept small losses rather than large ones.

When the coin you hold experiences a significant pullback, you need to calm down and ask yourself why. Has the overall market trend changed? Or has the market's focus shifted to other coins? What am I missing? Most importantly, you need to ask yourself: Is it necessary to endure this pullback? When the market doesn't align with your expectations, question your assumptions, stay humble, and adapt to the changing environment.

Market Signal: Aiccelerate Case Study

The current market's reaction to AICC provides a lesson in market psychology. The key is: if you disagree with the market's interpretation of AICC, you face two possibilities, both of which require immediate attention:

· The market is right, and you are wrong.

· The market is selling off due to other reasons you haven't identified.

In either case, fighting the trend is dangerous. If you can't explain the reason for the price drop, it's unlikely you'll identify when the price will stop falling. This is exactly what Buffett meant by "you only find out who was swimming naked when the tide goes out"—if you don't understand the market trend, you'll be exposed to unforeseen risks.

Reduce Blind Confidence

In the ever-changing cryptocurrency market, the only true "buy and hold" asset is Bitcoin. This is not a Bitcoin maximalist view but a pragmatic judgment based on Bitcoin's unique position as digital gold: it has unparalleled network effects, true decentralization, and institutional recognition. For assets in the cryptocurrency market, active management is not just advised but a survival necessity.

The crypto market requires a special mindset: one that is highly sensitive to market information and ready to adjust strategies at any moment. Successful traders maintain what Andy Grove referred to as "paranoid professionalism" — being constantly vigilant, questioning every position, challenging every assumption, and treating every profit as temporary. This is not pessimism but rather a form of realism in a market where the narrative can change at any time.

In the crypto market, the most dangerous trap is not leverage or poor timing of entry but emotional reliance on a position. We have all seen cases where:

· Traders become "holders" after incurring losses;

· Investors keep buying into a failing coin due to overconfidence in their assumptions;

· Community members develop emotional attachment to a coin and cannot face market changes. This "holding bias" destroys more capital than any smart contract vulnerability.

Success in this market requires being always online, constantly gathering information from multiple sources. But more importantly, it requires emotional management, the ability to objectively process information without being swayed by existing biases. Your convictions should be strong enough to support your trading decisions but also flexible enough to adapt promptly to changing market conditions. Think of yourself as a surfer reading the waves, not a captain trying to control the ocean.

I've observed that the most successful cryptocurrency traders share a common trait: they have strong convictions, but like wearing a loose jacket, they can discard it at any moment when the market winds shift. They understand that in the crypto market, being right does not mean holding onto unchanging beliefs but maintaining unwavering attention and adaptability.

Remember, every position other than Bitcoin needs active management, continuous validation, and humility in the face of changing conditions. In such a dynamic market, convictions should be seen as assumptions that need constant testing, rather than fortresses to defend at all costs.

The Power of Independent Thinking

In the echo chamber of crypto Twitter, every price fluctuation sparks countless conflicting narratives, making the ability to think independently especially rare and valuable. Merely consuming information is not the same as analyzing it, and following thought leaders cannot replace the formation of insight. At the end of each trading day, only your name is on the profit and loss statement.

The market doesn't care about which influential accounts you follow or which "alpha group" you've joined. It only reacts to supply and demand dynamics, fear and greed, and market participants' actions based on these emotions. That's why blindly copying trades without understanding the underlying logic is dangerous — you never know when to exit, when to add to your position, and most importantly, when your original assumptions are no longer valid.

Writing is the most powerful tool for cultivating true market insight. Writing forces clarity of thought. When you attempt to explain your market hypotheses in written form, the logical gaps become glaringly obvious. Vague concepts that seemed rational in your mind must withstand the test of explicit articulation. That's why the most successful traders and investors (such as George Soros and Howard Marks) are often prolific writers.

See how Messari has become an incubator for some of the sharpest minds in the crypto market. The habit of regular research and writing not only captures thoughts but also hones them. Every article, every post, every market analysis compels the author to scrutinize their viewpoints, delve beneath the surface, and understand the inner workings of the market movement.

The path to market success isn't about finding the right person to follow but about developing your own voice. Start writing, even if just for yourself. Record your trades, explain your assumptions, analyze your mistakes. Publicly challenge your assumptions, engage in discussions. Publicly change your mind when new information arises. The goal is not to be consistently right but to have a clear, independent mindset.

Remember, in a narrative-driven market, those who can independently construct and analyze narratives have a significant advantage. Your writing doesn't need to be perfect or popular; it just needs to be authentic and analytical. This way, your nascent market intuitions can evolve into actionable trading hypotheses, and market participants can grow into market leaders.

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