That said, you clearly also get a lot of other things right: admitting your error, long term savings in a home, a good job, understanding what a portfolio is, plus other obviously smart decisions.
Hopefully we all learn from your mistake - it is so easy to screw up or be beguiled into screwing up.
But yeah, fundamentally I suppose it's better for me to have been conned like this while I'm still relatively young, and where I didn't have all my net worth tied up in it.
Honestly at this point, if anyone were to ask me for investing advice, I would tell them to stay the hell away from cryptocurrency.
OP wasn't trying to time the market. They had a liquidity issue and needed cash.
> Therefore, the fact your stocks are down isn't a good reason not to sell them.
Realizing a loss is the perfect reason not to sell. This is why smart people recommend having an emergency fund, so you don't have to take a hit and damage your long term goals when you find yourself in a short term pinch. Not selling is actually the most important part of owning stocks.
Humans in general cannot 'time the market'. To think that you can is a fool's errand. Therefore, the fact your stocks are down isn't a good reason not to sell them.