I've been involved in cryptocurrencies for nearly 7 years, witnessing far too many people dreaming of "a hundredfold return in one year" only to disappear without a trace. To be blunt, the crypto world isn't short of myth stories; what it lacks are those who truly survive and keep making money.

Today, I’m not sharing any get-rich-quick secrets, but three principles I’ve tested with real money that I can still trade calmly with today.

**First: Capital is the lifeline, never go all-in or gamble recklessly**

The harshest losses I’ve seen aren’t due to technical mistakes but out-of-control leverage. Some use their down payment for a house to open 100x leverage; others cash out credit cards into altcoins — most of them have already exited the scene.

Always use spare funds, and be prepared to wipe out even the smallest capital. Especially for startup funds under 100,000, don’t expect to get free from losses with a single bet; the market specifically teaches this lesson. My approach is simple: no single trade exceeds 20% of total funds, and even in the best market conditions, keep 30% cash as a safety cushion. No matter how certain the market looks, leave yourself room to move.

**Second: Don’t blindly trust technical indicators; market makers use them to trap retail traders**

MACD golden cross, KDJ oversold, divergence… frankly, these are just tools market makers use to fool chart readers. In my early days, I studied technical analysis obsessively, staying up late drawing lines — but what happened? A single spike candle invalidated all that.

Now I only focus on two things: trend and volume. In a bull market, I stick to moving averages going up; if volume suddenly crashes, I escape immediately. In a bear market, all indicators are deceptive; lying flat actually makes more money than reckless trading.

**Third: Stop-loss is your only life-saving straw**

Retail traders’ biggest curse is: hold on when losing, run when making profit. This mindset leads to big losses and small gains, and eventually bankruptcy.

My strict rule: cut losses immediately when the capital drops 5%; when profits exceed 10%, move the stop-loss to break-even. Don’t be reluctant about that small loss; a 5% drop on a 10,000 position only loses 500. But if you let it keep falling, it can drop back to 10. The key is survival — only alive can you turn things around; dead, there’s nothing.

These principles aren’t secret or fancy, and they might be a bit rough. But it’s this rough execution that has kept me alive in this market all these years.