With more than 130 million people estimated to have been introduced to cryptocurrencies since the end of 2021, millions of investors could soon be looking at their first crypto bull run, with some suggesting it could come as early as 2024.

Those who are new to crypto should be aware that a bull market in such assetsis “unlike anything else you’ve ever experienced,” according to Ben Simpson, founder of crypto education platform Collective Shift.

“It's complete and utter chaos. It's just a tornado.”

In August, Cointelegraph spoke to hedge fund managers, heads of research at digital asset companies, and other crypto traders to understand how they’re preparing for the upcoming bull market and some of the learnings they could pass onto newcomers.

Get in, get out

Simpson said one of the biggest mistakes that new crypto traders make is holding onto their crypto bags too long — most often caused by getting caught up in the euphoria that they could make more.

“My first cycle, I didn’t have a plan. I rode it up and rode it all the way down back in 2017.”

Instead, Simpson said it could be helpful for investors and traders to write down a clear investment goal and understand what assets are in their portfolios — with a hard-set sell price for each one.

Setting hard market exits may reduce the possibility of losing on an investment as “once the music stops in a bull market it stops really quickly,” said Simpson.

On the same note, CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill told Cointelegraph that dollar-cost averaging — periodic small asset purchases or holdings sales — could mitigate the volatility of cryptocurrencies, whether it’s a bull or bear market. 

“Implementing dollar-cost averaging can help lower the average purchase cost and diminish the influence of volatility on one's portfolio,” Butterfill said.

Avoid memecoins

CK Zheng, co-founder and chief investment officer of hedge fund manager ZX Squared Capital, recommends investors to look into the more well-established and recognized cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

Butterfill argued Bitcoin behaves similarly to other alternative assets and has “remarkable diversification benefits, surpassing assets like gold, commodities or real estate.”

Meanwhile, Deryck Graham, founder of crypto hedge fund Portal AM, said to consider balancing investments between speculative and mature cryptocurrencies.

Graham added to break down investment sectors — such as layer 2’s or the metaverse — and choose related tokens while avoiding those with “little or no practical use,” namely memecoins.

“Consider tokenomics, dev team track record, whale investors coming in and leaving, community size, market momentum and liquidity,” he added.

Find the theme

Matrixport head of research and Crypto Titans author Markus Thielen told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin has “always hit a new high” in a booming market but added new themes drive new bull markets — supporting the idea of investing in new cryptocurrencies instead of those from the previous bull run.

Related: 2024 could be very bullish for crypto — Here’s why

At the same time, Simpson said having high-conviction investments will help with staying on goal as most will have “no chance” of keeping up with a portfolio of altcoins.

“I spoke to a guy the other day that has 80 altcoins in his portfolio. There's no way an individual investor can stay across and know exactly what 80 different coins are doing at any one time.”

Simpson, Zheng and Graham all warned against overexposure to crypto through taking loans to invest in the market, investing more than a person can afford to lose or trading using leverage.

“A leveraged position can result in a total wipeout of capital when one is least prepared,” Zheng said. “It's important to have the mindset of investment, not speculation.”

Simpson added that it’s important to have time away from crypto and watching markets. He advised both trading veterans and newcomers to safeguard their mental health.

“Go for regular walks. Go for a run. Go to the gym. Be a human.”

Magazine: How smart people invest in dumb memecoins — 3-point plan for success

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.