Isadora Reign

 October 17, 2025. Bitcoin is down 13.3% this week. Ethereum has dropped 13.7%. The Fear & Greed Index sits at 28—the lowest reading since April. My phone is buzzing with messages from friends asking if they should sell everything. Three years ago, I would have been one of them. But today, sitting in my Brooklyn apartment with my evening tea, I'm strangely calm. Not because I have all the answers, but because I've learned something more valuable: how to think clearly when markets test your resolve. This is the story of how I lost $66,200, what I learned from that pain, and how those lessons helped me build a $300,000 portfolio. More importantly, it's about the emotional journey that matters far more than the numbers. Part 1: The Painful Education 2018-2020: When Everything Went Wrong Fresh out of Wharton, I thought I understood markets. I had the education, the models, the confidence. What I didn't have was experience with my own psychology under pressure. I...

  I woke up Saturday morning to my phone buzzing with price alerts. Bitcoin had dropped below $110,000. Then $105,000. By the time I got to my laptop, it had touched $102,000. Ethereum was even worse—down from $4,783 to $3,400 in what felt like minutes. This wasn't just a correction. This was the largest liquidation event in cryptocurrency history: $19.3 billion cleared, 1.6 million traders wiped out, nearly $1 trillion in market cap evaporated within three hours. As I write this on Monday morning, Bitcoin sits at $115,361. Ethereum at $4,161. The Fear and Greed Index has plunged from 64 (Greed) to 27 (Extreme Fear) in less than 72 hours. And I need to be honest about something: even after years of trading, this weekend tested me. The Emotional Trap When markets move this violently, every instinct screams at you to do something. Sell before it gets worse. Buy the dip before you miss it. Check prices every five minutes. Read every tweet. React, react, react. I've learned...

  The Surface Story: Numbers Don't Lie Let's start with the facts. As I write this, Bitcoin is trading at $121,400. That's down 3.5% from last weekend's historic peak of $125,736. Ethereum sits at $4,339, having retraced a more significant 12.4% from its recent high of $4,955. The altcoin situation is more dramatic. XRP, Solana, and Cardano have all dropped 5-7% this week. Trading volumes across major cryptocurrencies are down - Bitcoin by 5%, Ethereum by 8%. The Fear & Greed Index, that somewhat quirky but oddly useful sentiment gauge, registers at 70. That's firmly in "Greed" territory, though notably down from recent peaks. On the surface, this looks like a classic case of an overheated market taking a breather. But is that all it is? What's Really Happening: Three Layers of Market Reality After spending the morning diving into on-chain data, ETF flows, technical indicators, and institutional activity, I've identified three distinct ...

 There's something uniquely energizing about October mornings in Brooklyn. As I sit here with my coffee, watching autumn leaves dance past my window, I'm reminded that we've just entered what historically has been one of the most fascinating quarters in financial markets. Not the most predictable. Not the easiest. Just... fascinating. After seven years of active trading—including a humbling $66,200 loss between 2018-2020 and a subsequent recovery that taught me more than any textbook ever could—I've learned to approach the final quarter of the year with equal parts optimism and caution. This article shares my personal framework for navigating Q4 2025, grounded in historical context, current market structure, and hard-earned lessons about risk management. This isn't financial advice (I'm not qualified to give that), but rather a transparent look at how I'm thinking about the months ahead. Part 1: Understanding Q4 Through a Historical Lens The Seasonal C...

 Monday evening in Brooklyn brings the kind of reflection that only month-end transitions allow. As I review September's market action against the backdrop of weakening economic data, I'm reminded once again why investment success depends more on adapting to reality than predicting outcomes. September 2025 will be remembered as the month when markets decisively broke historical patterns. Over the past five years, September averaged losses of 4.2%, yet this year delivered approximately 3% gains for major equity indices. This divergence between historical expectations and actual results encapsulates everything I've learned about humility in investing. The Federal Reserve's Cautious Beginning September 17th marked a significant milestone when the Federal Reserve cut rates by 25 basis points, reducing the federal funds rate to the 4.00-4.25% range. Having followed Fed policy closely since my investment recovery began, I found Chairman Powell's characterization partic...

 Friday afternoon in Brooklyn brings the kind of reflective quiet that follows significant quarters in financial markets. As I review today's Personal Consumption Expenditures data showing core inflation at 2.9% - exactly matching expectations but still the highest reading since February - I'm struck by how much has unfolded since June. The third quarter of 2025 delivered the kind of market performance that reminds me why predicting specific outcomes proves less valuable than preparing for multiple scenarios. What began as a period dominated by inflation concerns and Federal Reserve speculation evolved into a quarter where policy adaptation met corporate resilience. The Data That Defined Today This morning's PCE reading provided a fitting bookend to a quarter that started with inflation uncertainty. The 2.9% core reading matched economist expectations precisely, yet represented the highest level since February, serving as a reminder that the inflation story remains incom...