Still think of crypto as the ‘slots’ of the investment world? Think again.
Author: Paul Quickenden, Chief Commercial Officer, Easy Crypto
Bitcoin is known for its volatility; and for good reason. On 22 December 2017, it fell below $11,000, a whopping 45% from its peak. Then, on 2 March 2025, it recorded its biggest daily gain in history, adding over $10k to its price within a single day.
As a result, some would argue that investing in crypto is like playing the slots, i.e. you could ‘win’ or ‘lose’ it all in a single play. But by this token - all investing would be gambling. Well known finance commentator Peter Mallouk posted earlier this year that on any given day in the stock market, your odds of a positive return are just 53% - so, little better than a coin flip.
Playing the long-game
But before you yell “I told you so!”, it’s important to examine the next part of his post: "Increase your investment time horizon to a year, however, and your odds of success jump to 75%.” He added that “The longer you invest, the better the odds. Investing is a long game.”
Warren Buffett, often quoted as one of the most successful investors of all time, said similar: “The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”
And in reality, crypto is exactly the same. Analysis has proven that holding your crypto over the long term and disregarding economic news and price volatility has statistically proven to earn higher returns than day or swing trading or trying to time the market. This is especially true of novice investors who aren’t experienced in day trading.
If you want proof, look at Charlie Biello’s ‘Year in charts’ (below) and you’ll see that (with the exception of long-term Treasuries) every major asset class ended 2024 in the green, led by Bitcoin’s 121% gain. While the day-to-day fluctuations would have had many day traders gripping their desks, for the average Jo, time in the market often beats timing in the market. What’s more, if you were one of the early adopters who invested in 2011 and managed to hang on…and on…let’s just say you’d likely be smiling right about now.
So - if time is one of the key differentiators between investing and day trading (in which you ‘gamble’ on an increase), are there any others?
🎲 Luck? Or a long game?
Crypto investors who succeed over time don’t rely on good luck. They do their research and put in the effort to understand market cycles and invest with a strategy - whether that’s focusing on Bitcoin’s scarcity model, Ethereum’s smart contract utility or broader blockchain adoption and potential. Their investment decisions are rooted in knowledge, not blind hope.
Crucially they stay patient because long-term investing isn’t about chasing quick wins - it’s about backing ideas, technology and potential future value that will stand the test of time. In crypto, the real rewards go to those who zoom out, think big and stick to their strategy.
Incidentally, Fidelity - one of the biggest asset managers in the world - performed a study on their best-performing client brokerage accounts. Over a 10-year period, they found that the highest returns came from the ones where the account holder was dead. The second best were the ones that had forgotten they had investments. (Of course, I don’t recommend dying as a good investment strategy but ‘acting dead’ for a 10-year period could give you the best returns.)
🚀 Panic selling or Everest mentality?
While day traders will often react to short-term swings, watching their charts for signs of immediate economic influences, long-term investors know that in the climb up to the summit, there will be crevices along the way.
Markets rise and fall, but what matters is the broader trends over time. (Bitcoin has been declared ‘dead’ hundreds of times over the years, yet those who ignored the panic in the market and stayed the course have seen massive returns long-term.)
💥 Hype train or solid brain?
Meme coins and pump-and-dump schemes thrive on hype. They’re designed for quick gains, fuelled by social media trends and will often crash as quickly as they rise. Smart investors think beyond this speculation, focusing instead on investing where there is real-world utility - Ethereum as a backbone of smart contracts, Solana’s high-speed blockchain or Bitcoin as a store of value. They understand that a solid project offers real-world application and long-term investment potential.
🗺️ ‘Wing it’ or work the plan?
Experienced investors and successful investors are universal in their approach. They consistently tell us to remove the emotion from our trading and have a plan, whether that means:
- Removing your original investment once your crypto doubles to preserve capital
- Setting price targets and sticking to them (a good mantra might be: take profit, don’t maximise profit)
- Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) to smooth out market volatility over time
If you’re confused about any of this, it might be well worth consulting with a professional to get their input. Financial freedom requires structure and discipline; whereas investing without a plan is like setting off on a road trip with no destination - you might get lucky, but you’re more likely to get very, very lost. Planning helps remove the emotion from investing and ensures that decisions aren’t made out of fear or greed.
You don’t have to play Russian roulette or gamble to get ahead. Since 2009, Bitcoin has shown us that taking a long-term perspective on an asset can be hugely rewarding. But yes - crypto can be like the slots - if you treat it that way. So, stop playing…and start investing.
Disclaimer: Investing in crypto carries risk. Always do your own research or seek professional advice. Terms and Conditions apply
