It took me 5 years to go from 10,000 to 10 million. During this time, I have seen too many people make quick money by luck and then lose it all by skill — true experts in cryptocurrency are not 'calculators' who can predict the market accurately, but 'survivors' who can keep discipline and avoid big traps. Today I will share 6 practical iron rules, each verified by real money.
1. Only engage in 'irreversible upward trends': those who follow the trend thrive, those who go against it perish.
My earliest painful lesson was bottom-fishing in a downtrend: watching the coin price drop by 30%, thinking 'it's about to rebound', but it kept dropping further, with my 10,000 principal reduced to only 3,000. I later understood: the market is always right, the trend is irreversible.
The trends that can truly make money are the upward trends that 'even the market makers must follow' — for example, Ethereum rising from 2000 to 4800 in 2021, or BTC from 30,000 to 100,000 in 2024. Once such a trend forms, even if there are pullbacks in between, the overall direction will not change.
Operationally, you need to achieve:
Refuse to 'guess the bottom' or 'bet on rebounds', only enter when moving averages are in a bullish alignment and trading volume is consistently increasing;
Discovering that trends are deteriorating (for example, breaking key moving averages), immediately acknowledge mistakes and exit, even if it involves unrealized losses — remember: missing 10 opportunities is better than making one deep mistake.
2. Refuse frequent trading: hunters only wait for the fattest prey.
When I first entered the market, I could open 8 orders in a day, thinking 'more operations mean more profits', but the fees were higher than the profits. Now, I only open a maximum of 5 orders a month, which is more stable — the cryptocurrency market is like a casino, open 24 hours, but real opportunities may only come once a week.
The essence of frequent trading is to use 'busy feelings' to cover up 'directionless' panic. True experts behave like hunters: most of the time, they lie in the grass observing, waiting for the prey to enter the best shooting range (clear trend, clear signals), before pulling the trigger.
My timing logic:
During sideways periods, resolutely stay out, even if others are posting profits — in volatile markets, both long and short positions can get swept, and trading is like giving away money;
Only consider entering when signals like 'large volume breaking previous highs' or 'pullbacks not breaking support' appear — opportunities are waited for, not fought for.
3. Do not blindly trust technical indicators: indicators are tools, not commandments.
Many people focus on MACD golden crosses and RSI overbought conditions to place orders, often becoming 'bag holders'. This is because all technical indicators have lag: by the time a golden cross appears, the asset price has often already surged, entering at that point means capturing the 'tail' while potentially losing 'capital'.
Now I only do one thing when looking at indicators: use moving averages to judge the general direction and verify trends with trading volume. For example, if the 50-day line is above the 100-day line (bullish trend), and the trading volume has increased by 50% compared to the previous three days (funds are really entering), this combination of two conditions is 10 times more reliable than simply looking at a golden cross.
Remember: indicators are 'auxiliary tools', not 'entry instructions'. The real buying point is always the resonance of 'trend + funds + patterns'.
4. Forget the cost price after buying: when to sell, don't focus on 'whether to break even'.
I have seen too many people 'holding on after being trapped': buying at 200, reluctant to sell when it drops to 180, thinking 'I'll sell when I break even' when it rises to 190, only for it to drop back to 150—cost price becomes a 'psychological shackles', completely led by emotions.
Now, after placing an order, I immediately erase the cost price from my mind. Whether to sell is based on two points:
Whether the pattern has deteriorated (for example, breaking the trend line, increasing volume drop);
Have you reached the preset profit-taking point (for example, earning 30%, 50%).
Even if it drops 10% after buying, hold on as long as the pattern hasn't broken; even if you haven't broken even yet, if the pattern deteriorates, cut immediately — operations should only consider market trends, not 'paper profits and losses'.
5. Participate with 'money you can afford to lose': free cash is the anchor of your mindset.
Early on, I saw someone mortgage their house to trade cryptocurrencies, and after a liquidation, the whole family fell into trouble. The risks in the cryptocurrency world are always greater than you think; entering with money you 'must earn' will break your mindset — fearing a pullback when prices rise, fearing liquidation when prices fall, makes rational operation impossible.
My capital principle:
Only use 'idle money that won't be needed in the next 3 years' to trade cryptocurrencies; even if you lose it all, it won't affect your life;
Never borrow money or use leverage to trade cryptocurrencies—leverage is an 'amplifier' that can increase profits but can also amplify risks; when novices encounter leverage, 90% will accelerate their way to zero.
Remember: a stable mindset allows you to endure fluctuations during downturns and hold onto profits during upswings. Free cash is the anchor of your mindset.
6. Withdraw profits on time after making money: cashing in is what really counts.
A friend once turned 10,000 into 500,000 but delayed withdrawing, ultimately facing a platform crash and ending up with nothing. In the cryptocurrency world, 'account balance' is just a number; only cash transferred to a bank account is real profit.
My withdrawal discipline:
Every time profits reach 50%, withdraw 20% of the profits to the bank card — use profits to roll over positions, even if you incur losses you won't feel the pinch on your principal;
Withdraw funds at least once a year, converting some profits into 'fixed assets' (such as savings, wealth management) — this is not being conservative, it's 'insuring' your profits.
After all, the money taken from the market is the real profit.
Finally, I want to say: the core of stable profit is 'to make fewer mistakes'.
From 10,000 to 10 million, I have never caught a 'hundredfold coin', nor have I perfectly timed all market movements. What got me to today is 'less stepping into traps': not going against the trend, not trading frequently, not holding onto positions, and not randomly adding leverage.
The logic of making money in the cryptocurrency world is very simple: staying alive is more important than anything, preserving your capital allows you to wait for opportunities, and maintaining discipline allows you to hold onto profits. These 6 iron rules may seem simple, but they can help you avoid 80% of loss traps — the remaining 20% can be left to time.
