There is big difference in trading and investing in BTC. You are right that with volatility there is a lot to gain and a lot to lose. I can’t recommend that to average people because timing can be very tricky. But that shouldn’t put you off investing. To people asking me about how to invest nowadays into Bitcoin I have this advise that helps to avoid any speculation.
It is all right to invest into BTC for longterm (say 5 years). There is very high chance that bitcoin value will increase and that is because nowadays it is for common people pretty hard to get and the know-how you need (how to buy bitcoin, how to manage it, send it and how to store it) is big scare off factor. Today only sophisticated investors (IT experts, bankers, enterpreneurs) buy bitcoin. In about a year (it was already announced by CME) there will exist means for common investors without any knowledge of bitcoin inner workings to invest into it. And this will drive prices much higher because demand will increase.
So what investing strategy to choose when bitcoin is so volatile? Choose some small amount (that you can risk) and make it fixed for each month… Say, I’ll invest 100$ into bitcoin each month. Then choose hard calendar date. Say each 1. of the month. Make this your personal investment rule and buy for fixed amount the very same day each month no matter where the price is. This way you’ll get nice averaged price for the year. You’ll eliminate risks of timing and have very conservative strategy to invest into bitcoin.