Day trading or holding has the same risk and can both get profit, for day trading it requires more knowledge and deeper skills, because it regulates financial patterns in trading. while for holding only need to hold and save until the price is high. so it's a choice based on one's ability
You are right. Day trading is actually very dangerous if the trader has little knowledge about trading. In most cases, the main attraction of new traders is day trading but most of the traders lose their capital by doing day trading. So you must have the ability to do market analysis before doing day trading. And you have to be careful enough to hold any coin, there is a possibility of profit if you hold potential coins by doing proper research.
Day trading is risky in terms of user mistake, it's easy to fail at trading, one wrong move, and you could easily end up losing your money. However, I don't see why holding isn't risky, it's unpredictable, while you could easily wait many years (See Bitcoin), for the price to rise. On the other hand, with trading you can earn despite the price being lower than the anticipated.
I have experienced both. Have done a wrong move with wrong prediction. And missed to earn profits by not selling when the coin i held was on its uptrend. Market can move at any direction at any time. Be up to date on the coin where invested. Keep watching the trend's move, so that can avoid loosing profits. Experience will strengthen oneself.