These are some of the lessons I have learned over the past four years investing in cryptocurrencies. If you have your own experiences, please share them so we can all learn.

1. If it smells weird, don't eat it 🧐

This applies both to projects you're considering investing in and to any offer of help that seems too good to be true. If someone promises to recover your losses and asks you to share your secret phrase or password to "make your wallet compatible," it's probably a scam.

2. Don't get attached to one coin, project or network 💔

I believed strongly in Terra and its potential, until it was destabilized. A part of me still hopes for a miraculous return, even though I know that won't happen.

3. Be prepared to lose money 💸

If you're interested in crypto, you should know that you will lose money at some point, whether it's through scams, failed projects, hacks, or just plain volatility. The key is to anticipate this and diversify so that losses are manageable. If you use wallets, consider having multiple ones for different purposes so that if one gets hacked, the others will still be operational.

4. Every dollar lost is a lesson paid 📚

Whether it's a failed investment, a scam, or a hack, think of every loss as a learning curve; each one will make you wiser.

5. Define your exit strategy before entering 📝

This will allow you to implement your own stop loss. At first, I didn't have a clear strategy and ended up losing everything while waiting for a recovery that never came (yes, Luna again). Having a previously defined exit strategy helps to make decisions clearly when the market becomes uncertain.

6. There is no magic formula 🔮

With thousands of new projects every day, the odds of identifying “the next BTC or ETH” are very low. Instead, play the odds and diversify. Projects that are in the top 20 or 30 in market cap are typically less likely to collapse catastrophically. For example, FTX had dropped out of the top 30 before it crashed, and UST was in the top 30 before it crashed. If you had sold when it lost its top 30 position, you would have only lost 15%.

7. Will it create wealth? 💰

I have made and lost considerable amounts in crypto. Over time, I realized that even if my investment multiplied by 200, it wouldn't be enough to transform my lifestyle. For me, "wealth" means having enough capital to really change my financial situation. Now, every investment I make must answer the question: Will it generate real wealth? If not, I'd rather spend my time doing something else.

8. Don't lose sleep over it 🛌

As they say, only invest the capital you are willing to lose. If you are new, start with a maximum of 2% of your total assets. With time and experience, you can increase that proportion. If 2% of your assets were to disappear, you wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Personally, I have achieved 12% exposure, and that is my ideal balance.

I hope you find these lessons useful!