How to Survive Five Years in Crypto with Small Capital? The Survival Rules I Learned from 1500U

There’s never a shortage of get-rich-quick stories in the market, but what’s lacking are accounts that survive through three cycles of bull and bear markets. Last year, a friend of mine was left with only 1200U in his account. He came to me complaining and said he wanted to quit crypto, but I told him to start over using my method—three months later, his account had grown to 50,000U, and he never got liquidated once.

My approach is called the “Three-Part Fund Allocation + Six Operating Principles.” It may sound simple, but it’s what keeps your account alive long enough.

**First, how to allocate your funds**

You should never put all 1500U in one basket. I split it into three parts:
- **Aggressive Account**: Use 500U for short-term trades, with a maximum of two trades per day. If you lose it all, stop trading for the day. This is for catching intraday volatility—get in and get out.
- **Main Account**: Another 500U focuses on weekly trends. Don’t make a move unless there’s a clear directional signal. It’s better to stay in cash for three months than to act rashly.
- **Emergency Fund**: The last 500U is your lifeline, set aside for black swan events and flash crashes. If the first two accounts run into trouble, this money ensures you can keep playing.

These three accounts are completely separate in my mind—mixing them spells disaster.

**Now, the six ironclad trading rules**

**Rule 1**: Don’t FOMO on midnight pumps. If a coin suddenly surges 30% overnight, it’s usually a bull trap. Let the impulsive traders go first—only enter if the price holds.

**Rule 2**: Don’t rush to catch a falling knife. Breaking support may just be the beginning. Wait for three days of stable, high-volume trading before considering an entry—otherwise, just watch.

**Rule 3**: Be wary of low-volume rallies at the top. No matter how good the price looks, if there’s no volume to support the rise, the top could collapse at any moment. If no one’s left to buy, you’ll be the last one holding the bag.

**Rule 4**: Confirm volume spikes at the bottom. A single day of high volume could be a fake breakout. Only consider entering after three consecutive strong green candles—be patient and let the structure form.

**Rule 5**: Trust price and volume, not indicators. Candlesticks can be manipulated, but money flow doesn’t lie. Make decisions based on where the real capital is moving.

**Rule 6**: Control your trading frequency. The market is open 24/7, but that doesn’t mean you have to watch it 24/7. Stay in cash when you have no positions—save your bullets for real opportunities.

**Three hard rules before entering a trade**

Before every trade, I set these strict rules for myself:
- If I lose 3%, cut the loss, no emotions.
- Once profit hits 10%, move the stop-loss to entry price to at least guarantee no loss.
- Shut down the computer at 11 PM, no matter how tempting the market looks.

The more robotic your operations, the longer your account survives. Impulsiveness and wishful thinking are the biggest enemies of small capital.

Going from 1500 to 50,000 isn’t about catching a single 10x coin—it’s about making fewer mistakes every time. You can learn complex indicators and fancy strategies over time, but you need to ingrain position management and discipline first.

The market will always be there. Survive first, then you can talk about profits. Accounts that don’t last three months are just paying fees to the exchanges.