The Curse of Fomo Crypto
This is a SUPER common phenomenon in the crypto world, and almost every trader (especially retail) has experienced it.
It feels like there’s a personal “curse,” just bought, immediately dumps. But this isn’t a real curse, it’s a combination of psychology, market dynamics, and trader behavior patterns.
Here are the main reasons broken down:
Incorrect buying timing due to FOMO
Most people buy when prices have already risen quite high because they fear missing out (Fear of Missing Out). At that point, the hype is peaking, positive news is buzzing, everyone is jumping in together. Once retail buying volume surges, those who have made profits from the bottom start taking profits or whales dump. The result: prices immediately correct. You bought at the local peak, so what you see first is the decline.
Confirmation bias
The human brain tends to remember events that support our “theory.” You remember the 5 times you bought and then it dropped, but forget or ignore the 3 times you bought and then it rose. So it feels like “every time” you buy it drops, even though statistically it’s not always like that.
Extreme crypto volatility
Crypto moves much more wildly than stocks or forex. Movements of 10-20% in a single day are normal. So it’s reasonable that shortly after buying, prices might drop first before rising again (or continuing to drop). This isn’t because you bought, but due to the nature of the market itself.
Liquidity and manipulation
In many coins (especially small altcoins), liquidity is still thin. Once there’s a wave of retail buying, bots or whales can take advantage to pump a little and then dump. There’s also stop-loss hunting: prices are intentionally lowered to trigger other people’s stop-losses, then bought back at a cheaper price.
Market emotion cycles
The crypto market is heavily influenced by sentiment. Euphoria → mass buying → taking profits → fear → decline → panic selling → bottom → accumulation → rise again. Retail usually enters during the euphoria phase, so they are the first to face corrections.
Patience, discipline, and learning to read charts/sentiment will greatly help reduce the frequency of “just bought and immediately dumped.”
