It's not about buying too late, it's about selling too early.
Buy and hold. Longterm. 10+ years.
I agree with you, holders are the winners in this jungle of crypto world.
About the holding period I don't agree to hold 10+ years coz in 10 years maybe the blockchain will be dead. Just hold and keep the eye on the project.
The value of money is relative. For someone ,say $1000 today, may be more valuable than $10000 in 2 years.