Some thoughts after playing this for the past 5 years

I started gambling in crypto before the run up in 2017. I made great money but not what I should have because I was both greedy and delusional. I think it's a pretty common story. Last year I pushed a decent amount of money in to BTC at 10k and was able to capitalize on the dogecoin run, setting my sell date as the night before Elon appeared on SNL. It's a side hustle for me and I only invest money I've set aside for high risk plays but I've made a couple hundred thousand dollars doing it. For what its worth, here's what I've learned:

1. Get out before everyone else, even if it costs you upside. Everyone is looking to turn their $500 investment into a million dollars. In the real/boomer world a 20% ROI is incredible. If you see something getting hot on the boards get in there, play sentiment, ride it up but get out at 50% or 80% profit. Sell at the moment you start having delusions of the stock going supernova. Rinse and repeat.
2. BTC and ETH are long term plays. Stick your money there, treat it like a 401k on steroids. The returns will never be what they were in the early days but they're here to stay and there is real upside. BTC and ETH are no longer high risk plays in my mind. The swings are still wild but too many people with too much money are in. ETH's potential nukes BTC in the long run.
3. Shitcoins are shitcoins. If the market believes a coin is going to go from .01 to 1.00 in 6 months or because the CEO had a meeting with Bill Gates' assistant, it's a shitcoin and play the game accordingly (see point #1).
4. There are a lot of very serious companies that are still incubating but are developing the tech to change the game. If a company like ADA or IOTA actually hits their potential they're real players and there are plenty more out there.
5. Actual currency adoption will not happen without price stability. Period. There is no person in the world who would sell something for a penny they believe will be worth a dollar in a week. The actual blockchain currency will be boring as fuck and five people will make money off it.
6. This tech is real and will change the world. Does it need to be tokenized and traded in an open market? In most cases, probably not.