When gold prices (in dollars) soared from 70s stagflation, then crashed, was it smart to sell the top?  OK, how do you know what the top was?

In gold’s extreme, extended bear market, was it smart to sell at $700?  $600?  Selling for $600 and later re-buying for $300, you could have doubled your gold holding.

...$500?  $300?  $260?  Whoops!  Selling for ~$260 (IIRC^*) would have been mindrusting gold.

Holding gold is always safe, if your biggest concern is not to be stuck with less gold than you had already accumulated.

Holding BTC is always safe, if your biggest concern is not to be stuck with less BTC than you had before.

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^*  Numbers here are off-the-cuff, tossed off the top of my head to make a point.  If someone corrects any errors as Jay corrected my recollection of when Slaying the Bearwhale occurred, then... eh.  Here, at least, it will not change my point.