Seven years ago, I entered the market with 50,000 yuan. Now my account sits at 15 million. Don’t rush to ask me which coins I bought—in all honesty, what really kept me alive wasn’t some magical prediction, it was learning to lock away the beast of emotion.

Remember the LUNA disaster? In just three days, my account evaporated by 70%. That night, I grabbed two beers and went to find an old hand, spending the night on the rooftop in the wind until dawn. He lit a cigarette and said something I’ve never forgotten: “The market is actually pretty simple. What’s complicated is your own heart. If you can keep your heart steady, the money will come back to you sooner or later.”

In that moment, I suddenly understood—my real opponent was never those fluctuating numbers, but the impulsive version of myself in the mirror. Over the years, I gradually figured out a few hard rules, and now I’ll lay them all out:

**Buy when it’s cold, watch when it’s hot.** When everyone’s shouting trade calls, I’ve pretty much already turned off my phone. In a bull market, nine out of ten people are acting; the real money-making opportunities are hidden in the bear market corners nobody’s watching. At the start, I only use 5% of my position to test the waters, get a feel for it, and never chase the crowd.

**The longer the sideways move, the clearer the direction.** When the price moves sideways at a low level, lying there like a dead fish, don’t rush—someone’s quietly accumulating. I just wait with them. But if it’s moving sideways at a high level, it feels like a knife hanging over your head—you’d better get out fast. Remember: grind it out in the lows, leave early in the highs.

**Be ruthless when it’s rising, be bold when it’s falling.** The moment it surges to the top with volume, my take-profit order is already set at the resistance—I don’t need the last bite. When there’s a sharp drop to a key support, I’ll buy in batches, but my stop-loss is already set—if I don’t exit at the line, that’s just foolish.

**Buy in the green, sell in the red.** When the market’s tanking and everyone’s wailing, I’m placing orders; when the screen is filled with euphoria, I’m shutting down. Only by going against the majority do you have a shot at being on the winning side.

**Don’t trade in the morning, talk in the afternoon.** Even though crypto trades 24/7, human emotions have rhythms. In the morning, people are most likely to get carried away—let them go wild. By the afternoon, things have settled and your mind is clearer—it’s not too late to act then.

Now when I look at the charts, I can usually decide in three seconds: one candlestick for direction, one for volume to confirm, and then it’s all about execution.

I know the feeling all too well—you’re afraid to chase when it’s rising, scared to buy when it’s falling, can’t bear to sell when you’re up because you want more, and stubbornly hold when you’re down, hoping it’ll recover. These four demons take turns torturing you. So what do you do? There’s only one way: set strict rules, make execution mechanical, and blacklist your own impulses.

The wind in the market will always blow; you can go heavy on your position, but never let your heartbeat get chaotic. From 50,000 to 15 million, it wasn’t about being right every time, but about admitting mistakes immediately and letting profits run when you’re right.

Only those who can stay steady, endure the grind, and are willing to leave can stand in the path of money when the next wave comes.