BTC

And you know what? It feels strange and exciting at the same time.

Hi, this is NorthRay.😎

Remember when I said I was looking into cryptocurrency but wasn’t in a hurry to get involved?

Well, I couldn’t resist.

Today, I have Bitcoin in my wallet. Not much—just $100 worth. But it’s there. Real Bitcoin. Mine.

I went through the entire process: registering on Binance, completing verification, funding my account, and making my first purchase. I felt nervous. I had doubts. There were moments when I thought, “What if I mess something up?”

But I did it.

Today I’ll tell you how it happened, what emotions I experienced, and what I learned along the way.

Honestly? I had been putting it off for a long time.

First, I’m still relatively new to trading. Forex, indices, and gold are already familiar territory for me. Crypto, on the other hand, felt like unexplored wilderness.

Second, it’s scary. Cryptocurrency can drop 20–30% in a single day. That’s no joke.

Then I asked myself: “When exactly will I stop being afraid? In a year? In five years?”

Fear doesn’t disappear on its own. You have to step through it.

I set aside an amount I could afford to lose: $100. For me, it’s not “last-money-in-the-bank” cash. It’s an experimental budget. If it disappears, it’ll be disappointing—but not catastrophic.

So I went for it.🥶

I explored several options. There are plenty out there: Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit, local exchanges, and others.

In the end, I chose Binance.

Why?

It’s the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, with high liquidity and millions of users.

It has a strong reputation and a long track record.

Security is a major focus.

The entry barrier is low—you can buy Bitcoin with...

On Sunday morning, the crypto community finally exhaled. Not loudly, not joyfully—the kind of exhale that comes after narrowly surviving a disaster. Bitcoin climbed back above $61,000, gaining 1.7% in just a few hours. On a normal day, that wouldn’t even make headlines. But this was no normal week. It was the most brutal week since the collapse of FTX and the imprisonment of Sam Bankman-Fried.

Let’s start with the numbers to grasp the scale of the damage. Bitcoin lost more than 17% over the week. Ethereum fell around 20%. The entire crypto market shed roughly $390 billion in market capitalization. Three hundred ninety billion dollars—more than the GDP of New Zealand or Portugal—vanished in just five days.

Friday was the real horror show. Bitcoin briefly dropped below $60,000. This wasn’t just another price level; it was a psychological wall. When Bitcoin broke above it, everyone was shouting, “To the moon! $100,000 next!” When it fell below, panic took over. If $60,000 couldn’t hold, where was the bottom? $50,000? $45,000? Nobody knew. Nobody wanted to find out. Everyone simply sold.

And now, on Sunday, traders stare at the chart in disbelief. Bitcoin is back around $61,800. It should be a reason to celebrate. Yet the optimism feels nervous, cautious. What if another crash comes tomorrow? What if this is just a dead-cat bounce?

Do you know what triggered the panic for many investors? Not macroeconomic news, not Federal Reserve comments, not even the stock market decline. It was news from a company called Strategy.

Formerly known as MicroStrategy, the company rebranded after Bitcoin effectively became its sole reason for existence.

Strategy spent decades building business intelligence software. Then founder Michael Saylor discovered Bitcoin and became obsessed....