In the years of trading cryptocurrencies, the most painful lesson is not about missing the price fluctuations, but about getting the cycles wrong. This "Three-Cycle Survival Method" has helped me avoid many pitfalls, and today I'll explain it so you can lose less real money.
When I first entered the market, I was like a spinning top, my eyes glued to the 15-minute K-line, itching to act at every red and green bar movement. I always thought that quick reactions would yield quick profits, until a major market correction hit — the screen turned glaringly red, my fingers trembled as I tried to stop losses, but the system lagged like a PowerPoint presentation. By the time the trades were closed, my account was nearly empty, and I finally understood what it meant to be "rubbed against the ground by the market."
Later, I met an experienced trader who saw me sighing over the short cycles and said something straightforward: "What’s the difference between just looking at the 15-minute chart and feeling around for the forest while touching the leaves?"
His words awakened me. From that point on, I practiced multi-cycle interactions and gradually figured out a set of rules.
First, look at the 4-hour K-line to determine the direction; this is like checking the road before driving. In an uptrend, both lows and highs are progressively higher, and a pullback is actually an opportunity to enter; in a downtrend, lows and highs are consistently declining, and rebounds are often traps for the unwary; during sideways movement, it’s even simpler, as the price fluctuates within a range, random operations are just giving fees to the platform. Remember: follow the trend, don’t go against the market.
Once the direction is set, switch to the 1-hour chart to find positions. For support levels, look at trendlines, moving averages, or previous lows; if the price stabilizes nearby, consider entering; for resistance levels, watch previous highs and key pressure zones—if a top divergence occurs here, quickly take profits or reduce positions, don’t be greedy.
Finally, use the 15-minute chart to catch opportunities; it doesn’t care about the trend, just focuses on finding entry and exit points. Look for engulfing patterns, bottom divergences, or MACD golden crosses, but crucially, pay attention to trading volume — a breakout with volume is reliable; breakouts without volume are often false, so don’t jump in.
Remember these three principles: 4-hour for direction → 1-hour for areas → 15-minute for signals; if there’s a conflict in cycle directions, decisively wait and see; always set stop losses for small cycle operations, don’t cling to the fantasy of "it can rebound" and stubbornly hold on.
Multi-cycle interaction is not just a decoration, it adds several layers of insurance to chaotic market conditions. The market never complains about your slowness, it only fears your reckless intrusion. Keeping a steady rhythm is a hundred times better than random operations.