Last year, I met a girl who, with a sorrowful face, told me she had thrown $20,000 into the crypto market, and three months later her account only had $600 left. At that time, her exact words were, 'I have to calculate the cost of even a cup of milk tea; I almost uninstalled all market software.'
As a result, six months later when we met again, the other person held a screenshot of a position worth $150,000 and smiled, saying, 'Now I can drink two cups of milk tea and spill one, not for anything else, but for revenge consumption.'
Don't think this is a fantasy; the crypto market never lacks for 'comeback scripts,' but what it lacks is the ruthlessness to turn 'cognition' into 'action.' Today, I will share my seven survival rules, each one a lesson learned from countless people who have lost money. Those who understand and follow them can at least avoid 80% of the pitfalls.
1. When the market is 'fishing,' being in cash is 100 times cooler than being fully invested.
There are always people in the market shouting, 'If you don't enter now, it will be too late' and 'This wave will definitely break the previous high,' but I tell you: chaotic periods are more dangerous than walking alone down a dark alley at midnight. Candlesticks jump like an ECG, indicators clash with each other; at this moment, what you should do is not to 'fear missing out,' but to 'fear stepping on a landmine.' It’s common for me to be in cash for half a month; what’s ten missed small fluctuations? It’s better than being buried on a mountaintop—after all, as long as I keep my capital, I’m not afraid of running out of fuel.
2. Popular assets? Enter and exit quickly; don't 'fall in love.'
Those suddenly skyrocketing assets rise like rockets and drop more thrillingly than bungee jumping. Remember, treat these kinds of assets like 'dew love affairs': set stop-loss and take-profit lines in advance, and run the moment the heat fades; you must not watch floating profits turn into floating losses while comforting yourself with 'it will rebound.' I’ve seen someone hold onto a popular asset from a 50% rise down to a 30% drop. When I asked why he didn't sell, he said, 'I have feelings for it'—bro, this is investing, not dating!
3. Is the trend coming? Lying down makes more than 'fiddling around.'
When the candlestick opens high with 'explosive' volume, that’s the trend extending an olive branch to you. The worst thing to do at this moment is to get 'itchy hands,' buying and selling back and forth, falsely calling it 'swing trading,' only to sell your chips and regret later. When I captured a certain wave last year, I held my position through a 20% fluctuation without moving, ultimately reaping a full 60% profit—remember, when a trend is established, 'withstanding fluctuations' is the highest level of operation.
4. A massive bullish candle appears? Hurry up and 'take profits in batches.'
Whether it's at high or low positions, a sudden emergence of a massive bullish candle is likely the main force saying 'goodbye.' Don't be greedy for that last point of profit; when you see this signal, sell in 2-3 batches, with an interval of 1-2 hours between each batch. I had a student last year who lost $5,000 because he was greedy for an extra half hour, going from a profit of $20,000 to a loss; he’s still crying in my comment section.
5. Moving averages are the 'navigation system'; don't drive by feeling.
The most common mistake retail investors make is 'going with their feelings,' buying when others say buy and selling when they say sell. In fact, the daily moving averages are the best 'road signs': focus on support and resistance levels, with short-term turnovers of 3-7 days; decisively enter when there's a golden cross, and immediately withdraw when there's a dead cross. Using data instead of intuition is far more reliable than listening to ten 'gurus' predicting—after all, moving averages won't lie to you, but 'gurus' might.
6. 'Make friends with the trend,' don’t be a 'counter-current.'
If the upward trend hasn't broken, hold it steadily; don’t sell early just because you 'feel it has risen too much.' If the downward trend hasn't stabilized, just wait patiently; don’t think about 'catching the bottom halfway up the mountain.' 90% of 'counter-trend operations' in the market are sending heads to the main force; while you think you are a 'warrior,' in others' eyes, you are just 'cannon fodder.' Remember, going against human nature is not 'going against the trend,' but 'resisting the impulse to chase up and sell down.'
7. Staggered entry is the 'amulet,' going all in is the 'death warrant.'
'Going all in feels good for a moment, but ends in a graveyard'—I suggest you engrave this on your screen. When building positions, split into 3-4 batches; for example, initially enter 20%, buy another 30% when it drops 5%, which helps to average down the cost. Moreover, each trade must have a stop loss set first; run if you lose 5%, never linger. I’ve seen too many people go all in with a 'let’s take a gamble' mentality, and their accounts went from five figures to three figures; they couldn't even find a place to cry.
In fact, opportunities in the crypto market have never ceased, but why do only a few people make money? Because most people only stay at the 'knowing' stage but fail to 'execute.' Just like these seven iron rules; they seem simple to look at, but fewer than 10% can persist every day.
