Actually I do not pretend to seem contemptuous, but after several years as a trader in different markets I have learned that the best thing that a newbie interested in engaging in this exciting business in a serious and professional way can do is dedicate enough time to an adequate preparation of:

a) how markets work,
b) what trading is and how it is carried out,
c) and an extensive research and approach to cryptocurrencies,

since this market has proven to be very different from traditional markets and it is necessary to immerse yourself well in this world to understand its operation and the peculiar way in which this market seems to be more sensitive to the rumor mill than to the technical and fundamental aspects of the ordinary markets.

Unfortunately, many people like OP got used to the fictitious bonanza that the market experienced throughout 2017, when any minimal rumor about the bitcoin skyrocketed the price to new historical records. And as happens in our dream travels, waking up from a pleasant dream is usually painful because it confronts us with the harsh reality.

And the reality of bitcoin is that its price was artificially inflated last year, and its current price seems much closer to what its historical trajectory could make us project, than the price of $20k observed last year.

So, humble yourself and appreciate that the price is sustained around $6,000 these days, because in my opinion there seemed to be even more room for the fall to be prolonged below $3,000.

It is truly complicated to choose a single cryptocurrency that currently exists as a 100% reliable store of value whose value will not fall with time, since in the case of digital technology, it is impossible to think that in ten years there will be no technologically superior cryptocurrencies that they will be preferred by the investors of those days.

In fact, taking into account that we are just going through the first years of development of this technology, I sometimes think that we are still in a "beta" stage of cryptocurrencies, so out of bitcoin I do not currently see a single altcoin that might be able to survive for at least ten years with equal or more value than it now has, although perhaps Ripple could still retain some strength.

It is obvious that the governors of the central banks should make their best efforts to minimize the potential of cryptocurrencies, placing emphasis on the supposed risks involved, which only highlights the poor information they have in this regard, or their intention to manipulate the truth about what cryptocurrencies really mean.

In addition, in an economy as fallacious as they strive to make it look "healthy", perhaps the most risky thing to do is to continue trusting these professional cheats, depositing our hard earned money in the banking and financial system they promote in each of their meetings and conferences.

It is true that there is a great anxiety in the cryptospace to see very soon the resumption of the great uptrend experienced by bitcoin since the end of 2016, but if we are curious enough to observe the performance of the market over these ten years of existence, periods of high volatility such as that observed last year or at the end of 2013 are really an exception, and rather seems to prevail a prolonged calm in the markets.

Therefore, we must be mentally prepared to wait for a long time at current levels around $6,000 since we have already been several weeks in a range that seems to please bitcoin. But if at the end of the year the price can close above $10k, we could feel more than satisfied.

I admire people who have the guts to dare to things as surprising as that. Anyone in their right mind would think that it is better to preserve the heritage that you have built with the hard effort of many years of work, such as a home, to immerse yourself in the turbulent waters of a capricious, volatile and manipulable market where the only thing that prevails It is uncertainty.

However, I have no doubt that this type of decision is what separates the brave from the mediocre, and although many times the first suffer strong blows, they end up winning the battles. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to take the risk, take it, but be aware of the possible consequences of your decisions.

It is a fact that the bounty programs have not been an efficient means to promote the new cryptocurrencies, because there is a growing number of developers who seem willing to abandon the current system of bounties that has existed to date in cryptospace, to look for new schemes of promotion, more efficient and with greater projection.

However, I do not think the bounties will disappear soon, but I would expect them to gradually begin to diminish in importance, so maybe it's time for all those who had made the bounty hunt their way of life, start looking for new alternatives to obtain income.

It is true that in the crypto market almost everything is possible, however I believe that we must always adjust our expectations to the parameters that common sense tends to dictate to us. It is true that some cryptos such as bitcoin or ethereum achieved a performance of more than 100,000% in a matter of a few years, but it is difficult to believe that in a market that tends to a greater stability like this, periods of such immense volatility as previous ones can be repeated again.

Therefore, multiplying your investment x5000 in ten years would imply a marketcap above $10,000,000,000,000, which theoretically does not seem impossible, but difficult to imagine for a market as unpredictable as this one.

You are right, financial crises are so recurrent that they seem to be giving clear signals that the current system has serious flaws that will sooner or later cause it to collapse, or that the system itself seems to be intentionally causing these crises to benefit from them.

That is why despite the FUD spread by these dark interests, we must persist in our commitment to the development and promotion of cryptocurrencies as a valid opposition to that rapacious and unscrupulous economic system, although we must be aware that the task will not be easy and at all times we will find a strong opposition on the part of those hidden powers.

No, I do not think that being greedy at the moment is a valid recommendation. Precisely, a few days ago Vitalik Buterin was stating that perhaps the crypto market has reached its maximum level and we will never again see cryptocurrencies shooting 1000% in a short time.

Therefore, I think that in these moments it is more advisable to be cautious than to be ambitious. Investors seem to have gradually lost interest in the speculative market of cryptos, and if they report medium-term profits they will hardly reach impressive figures as before, starting the trend towards a more stable and less volatile market.

The life of a trader in the future should not be too different from what other traders have been able to achieve over the years, once they have committed to their profession and have developed enough tools to achieve their goals.

But keep in mind that only a small proportion of those who aspire to become successful traders achieve it, so it is not enough to be called a "trader" to aspire to a future of wealth, it is necessary to demonstrate with facts and with discipline that you have achieved the status of a successful trader.

Your optimism seems excessive and unjustified, because although it is true that current prices are very low compared to what was observed at the end of 2017, they are still considerably high compared to the prices that most of the cryptocurrencies had at this point in time last year.

I prefer to be cautious. We are in a moment of considerable uncertainty and, apparently, there is still enough room for the fall to continue considerably. However, if the forecasts of many analysts come true and we can see a gradual recovery of the market in the coming months, I have no doubt that those who have risked investing right now, in the middle of the storm, will deserve the great success that they could reach because of their brave decisions.

It is difficult to speculate about this, because bitcoin has more to do with individuals than with larger collectives such as a nation, which by its very nature has the function of centralizing decision-making and regulations, something that is against the very nature of bitcoin.

However, I believe that due to its great potential, bitcoin is demonstrating enough capacity to contribute to a fairer distribution of wealth, empowering individuals who have practically been able to build wealth from nothing, which has generated direct and indirect benfits to the community.

I have verified in practice that this is the usual attitude of those who think that obtaining some benefit in this crypto-universe is easy and accessible to anyone who wants it, without making any effort for it, but as soon as they realize that it is necessary to learn at least the basic notions of the English language and get certain knowledge about cryptocurrencies and blockchain, quickly become discouraged and abandon any interest in obtaining this extra income.

For that reason I think that the crypto-universe has its doors open for all those who are looking for an excellent income opportunity, but not everyone deserves it, and that is why I personally have stopped recommending my friends and acquaintances to come to this promissing cryptouniverse. Things here are not as easy and profitable at the moment as before, and I make too much effort every day to get some decent income so I don't need to carry on my shoulders the heavy load of lazy newbies.

I also remain very optimistic about the future of bitcoin in the coming years, because after the great uncertainty that prevailed for several years regarding the possibility of being banned worldwide by the centralized financial system, things seem to improve widely and it seems there is a growing openness to its massive adoption as a valid payment system.

And another thing that seems to improve the bitcoin's outlook is that after the huge speculative bubble of 2017 the financial sector and investors in general seem to have understood the true nature and usefulness of cryptocurrencies, which has been reflected in greater stability and lower volatility, an indispensable factor for its adoption as a means of payment.

Rather, what I find more worrying is that there are still many members of this forum that, although they are already accumulating hundreds of posts where they share their "knowledge" and experience in the subject of cryptocurrencies, they still openly state their ignorance to base all their uncertainty regarding the future of bitcoin based solely and exclusively on its current price.

Come on!, remember that what has made bitcoin a great event worldwide is the great technological revolution that the concept of blockchain has meant for many areas of the world today, including financial, so I think it is time to wake up our narrow-mindedness to realize that, on the contrary, the incorporation of this technology to our everyday life is a fact and that is great news for bitcoin and all crypto-enthusiasts.

It is so difficult to forecast the price of bitcoin due to its unique behavior, because unlike most institutional markets, it tends to react in a particularly volatile way to the rumor mill that usually spreads unreliable media, and disobeys all rules previously known on technical and fundamental analysis.

And this is especially paradoxical because the technology involved in cryptocurrencies today is better than ever, but for investors this seems absolutely irrelevant.

In my case, venturing into the field of cryptocurrencies has helped me significantly to improve my personal finances, especially at the end of last year when the enormous pump observed in December led me to earn a significant amount of money.

However, throughout this year I must admit that the price of bitcoin has caused constant headaches and stress, so I have even thought that if things do not improve soon, I might think about dedicating myself to another business, but I still keep great hopes that this market has a lot of potential but we need to be very patient to wait for a gradual recovery in the medium term.

Like everything related to the crypto-universe, the possibilities of the ICOs are open in the long term because anything could happen, but one thing is true: so far this business scheme has been shown to be highly inefficient to the same extent that the entire crypto market has focused solely and exclusively on speculation and not on the development of solutions to facilitate current processes in today's society.

While the world does not find adequate answers in the projects behind the ICOs, its impact on real life will be negligible, and this will be an important factor that leads to a gradual evolution of the current ICO system to make it more efficient.

This type of reasoning clearly indicates what is the true interest of some individuals when approaching this ecosystem. For those of us who are particularly interested in the technological and revolutionary aspect of bitcoin, I think we are going through a good stage in terms of its greater acceptance and the growing information that ordinary people have about these issues.

But for those who are here motivated solely and exclusively by speculative interests, these are undoubtedly bad times full of great challenges and uncertainty, which is not all bad, because we need less of these people in the ecosystem, and more of those previously mentioned.