Of course, no one can guarantee that prices in 2019 will delight us, but personally I don’t count on it. I believe in crypto currencies, I know that in the near future, crypto currencies will start to buy funds with large capitals, so I have no doubt that in the future the trend will definitely become bullish. I don't know how long it will take, but I know for sure that I will wait. And while I'm waiting, I trade parallelly, while increasing my profit.

Everything is not as rosy as you imagine. Recall, at least, the EOS, which periodically sells its 400k eth, thereby affecting the exchange rate of the currency itself. Yes, as for the EOS, we are dealing with a competitor of the eth, who is really interested in this, but it still clearly shows how such a sale affects the currency exchange rate.
Now imagine that in the conditions of the market, with small volumes of trades (as we have seen recently), some kind of scam project will sell at least 2-5k ether. And you think it will not affect the course of the eth? You are wrong.

I think that ICO projects need to be regulated. This will reduce the likelihood of meeting with scam projects. After all, today, because of the many low-grade projects that were invested by early investors, they (early investors) have already refused to participate in ICO, and possibly from investing in crypto currency in general. Also, such projects, after reaching their financial goals, can simply sell all the collected eth, which significantly affects the exchange rate on the market.
All of these factors don't improve the acceptance of crypto currency by the community. That is why I think that ICO needs regulation.

Of course, in tens of years we will not see most of the currently existing crypto currencies. But that's not the point. Now there is a formation of crypto currencies, the crypto market and including all these relationships. It is on the basis of what will be created now the world will be built with a new form of monetary relationships.
The crypto market will not disappear, on the contrary, it will replace or fully complement the existing fiat currency market.
Now many, including the goverments of many states, see the advantages of digital money. Over time, this understanding will only increase and take root, and then real actions will be taken to create conditions for the universal use of crypto currencies around the world.

I think the purchase of currencies by a ladder will be suitable for you. None of us can say for sure what price will be the lowest, so if you plan to purchase, start doing it now. And of course, when buying, it is best to give preference to promising coins from the top of the top.

Judging by the actions you described, it can be concluded that you didn't have a clear and reasonable plan.
Personally I, when I cannot understand what exactly is happening with the market, I don't trade until something changes. Only after the situation becomes clear for me, I form my action plan based on my assumptions.
For example, the price of my asset falls and I assume that the fall will continue. But I know that the fall is not continuous. The price falls, but not constantly, there is a time when it is slightly corrected and at that moment it is slightly (or significantly) rising. In this situation, I can act in several ways:
1. try to average the initial purchase price;
2. selling an asset in order to buy it back at a lower price (this action can be repeated many times when it falls and as a result I will have a profit. And this is an increased number of coins, the surplus of which I can leave or sell);
3. selling an asset in order to transfer money to a more promising asset that is more likely to bring me a profit.
In order to make this happen to you no longer occur, evaluate the market without emotions and make a plan of action.

I strongly doubt that this will happen. If you have any thoughts based on facts, I will be glad to hear them out, and so your statement has no value.
Personally, I think the ether is a great coin and I keep some of my profit in it. But common sense suggests that bitcoin is more reliable. Do you know about the Lindy's effect? It states that the expected life of a nonperishable asset is proportional to its age. I think, subconsciously, this effect is understood by everyone. Therefore, trust in Bitcoin, as a currency that has existed for 10 years, is much higher than any other currency.
And this is only one of the many reasons why Bitcoin will not give up its position to any other currency.

In essence, such campaigns leave a loophole, thanks to which, they can weed out some of the participants to who they are not willing to pay. After all, if it was a matter of honesty, then really the participants would have to go through the KYC before becoming a participant in the campaign. On the other hand, in this case, if the project at some point renounces its obligations to pay the bounty participants (and we know that its happens), they will have the personal data of the participants, which may cause a wave of indignation. But in this case too, the project simply wants to protect itself.
It turns out that from time to time all the bounty participants have a deal with unscrupulous projects. This factor just needs to be taken into account, because really we can't change anything.

Yes, the negative impact of scam projects is difficult to overestimate. Due to participation in such projects, some investors, especially beginners no longer trust crypto currencies. Those who trust these projects are then forced to suffer losses.
Unfortunately, responsible for what is happening is difficult to bring to justice. To date, there is no legislative basis for regulating this.
Perhaps the initially high and stringent requirements for creating projects will help remove some scam projects. But we all need to understand that a lot of money is at stake, so fraudsters will make every effort to get what they want.

I think that now is the right time to enter the market. Now, if viewed globally, the market is in the phase of accumulation. In this phase, it seems to most small traders that buying crypto assets is impractical. But they are greatly mistaken, since this is the only correct phase for investing. If you invest in cryptocurrency now, then in the future you will have an advantage over those who will buy in the second (rapid growth) and third (distribution) market phase.
Don't listen to the opinion of those who don't know how to really work in the market. Invest now in promising coins. It is better to opt for bitcoin, lether, ripple. In parallel learn how to make money in the crypto market.
And read about the phases of the market, it helps a lot in understanding what is really happening in the market and drawing up a plan of action.

Unfortunately, there are scam projects and they are bad for cryptocurrencies and the crypto market. Such projects undermine investor confidence, which in the future no longer want to link their finances with cryptocurrencies. Also the problem is what you described above. Having collected a sufficient amount of ether, scam projects simply dump it back onto the market, thereby pushing the price of ether down.
Such projects unambiguously cause great damage, so this is exactly the area of ​​crypto relationships where regulation is necessary. Projects must comply with certain standards and be accountable to investors and the crypto community in accordance with established laws.

You should not consider the market as a continuous series of bull run and a bearish trend. There are 4 phases of the market, it is:
1 - accumulation. This period immediately after a long fall. And now we are in this phase of the market (we see that now the market is moving without an obvious trend).
2 - the period when money is earn. This is when the price breaks through the base and is rapidly going up (now we don’t see this).
3 - distribution. After a rapid uptrend, the price again begins to trade in the side range.
4 - downward trend. Here it is clear that the price is moving down.
These phases of the market can be applied to any timeframes.
And if you look globally, now we are in the first phase. I see no signs of the second phase yet, but I suppose that we will see a real bull run no earlier than the summer of 2019. Of course, until the summer, we will locally experience all these phases many times, but there will be no real market reversal.

Ripple is one of those token that are already in use. Ripple has a strong and smart team. This project is constantly evolving and meets the requirements of the time. The ripple team has shown its ability to solve real problems. This coin has many advantages in order to invest in it for a longterm.

First of all, there may stay promising coins, projects that are developed and supported by development teams and of course Bitcoin.
But you should not be 100% sure that these coins will surely survive. The crypto market is highly unpredictable, so don't forget that you need to have other sources of income other than crypto currencies.

Of course, the bull run will not be this year. Many relied on this, but the facts are telling the contrary. I think that the next bull run will start in half a year, when the big players will buy bitcoins at low prices. All we can do is learn to make money in such conditions.

You were right. Only I think that the bull run will not start immediately after Bitcoin reaches the bottom. I think it will take a long time before it can be stated that the bull run has begun. First, institutional investors will have to buy bitcoin and only then the price will begin to recover and grow.

So it happens. There are those people who earn and there are those people on whom earn. I'm sorry that many people lost their money by investing in cryptocurrency, but let's not remove the blame from themselves. After all, each of us made the decision to buy crypto currency. And one people thought that they were smarter than others and didn't want to spend their time learning and gaining skills to trade in the crypto market. Only in fact it turned out that they were wrong and it was necessary to strain in order to earn money all the time and that the crypto market is not a roulette game and thay have to take responsibility for thay actions.
While others strained every day to understand the crypto market and learn how to earn money on it.

Of course there must be free funds. But the OP is not a pro and he has not yet understood that there should always be free funds for purchases.
He is great that he is trying to find a way to improve his financial condition now. In his situation, such a strategy is good. I think that he will draw the right conclusions for the future. I see the potential in OP to be a great trader.

You can do more than just wait and hold. You can trade. If you own this skill, then you will not care what the market is bullish or bearish. You need to stop every day regretting that 2018 brought only losses and start looking for ways to make money now.

You are not late, so listen to the bad "mentors" less. I would not recommend to seek further advice or help from them.
Crypto currencies are just starting their development. Institutional investors are only going to enter the crypto market, so you are just in time.
Start now to actively explore the information necessary to earn in the crypto market, practice and gain experience. Now is a great time to buy some crypto currencies.
And for the future, ask questions thoughtfully and carefully. Don't let the answers to your questions form  wrong beliefs. Create your own principles and aspirations yourself and follow them.