The crypto world is like a jungle hiding a gold mine; some accumulate slowly through steady mining, some quickly earn through high-altitude drops, and some fall into traps and lose everything. In my 10 years in crypto, I’ve tried holding cash, leveraged contracts, and NFT speculation, moving from an initial $30,000 to now over $10 million, stepping into more pits than earning money. Today, I’ll break down these practical experiences and share the different paths of money-making logic and survival rules.
One, spot investment: The 'safe gold mine' for ordinary people, earning slow money through trends.
'Spot is the foundation, contracts are the building' — this is a realization I had after three liquidations. For ordinary people, spot trading is not the slowest way to earn but the only way to survive through three cycles of bull and bear markets.
1. Why is spot trading the safest?
Low risk ≠ no risk: It’s common for mainstream coins to drop 50%, but very rare for them to drop 90% (except for black swan events), while altcoins going to zero is the norm. In the bear market of 2022, my BTC dropped 70%, but it rose back to a new high in 2024, while only 2 out of 10 altcoins purchased during the same period remained in trading.
Less hassle = less expense: No need to monitor the market; office workers can invest with just 1 hour a month. I’ve seen too many people give up on crypto because they 'don’t have time to watch the market,' not realizing the core of making money in spot trading is 'enduring time.'
The effect of compound interest crushes short-term trading: ETH rose from $100 in 2017 to $4,800 in 2021, a 48 times increase over 7 years; even if I missed the highest point, holding for 3 years can still yield a 10 times profit, which is more reliable than daily short-term trading.
2. My Spot Trading Strategy
(1) Choosing coins: Only invest in 'hard currencies that cross bull and bear markets.'
Core Position (70%): BTC, ETH. The reason is simple — they are the 'USD and gold' of the crypto world, the first choice for institutional entry, and won’t disappear even with stricter regulations.
Satellite Position (20%): Leading public chains (SOL, AVAX), leading tracks (RNDR-AI, MKR-DeFi). These coins fluctuate more than BTC, can amplify returns in a bull market, but must choose those 'with real applications,' staying away from purely conceptual coins.
Observe positions (10%): Potential coins in new tracks (like the RWA concept coin of 2024), use small funds to test, increase holdings when they rise, and don't feel bad when they fall.
(2) Operation: Dollar-Cost Averaging + Swing Trading, both resilient against declines and able to capture major upward trends.
Bear Market Dollar-Cost Averaging: When Bitcoin is below its previous high by 50% (e.g., if it fell to $16,000 in 2022, with a previous high of $69,000), spend 10% of your monthly salary to buy in, ignoring the price and focusing on the 'undervalued range.'
Bull Market Swing: After breaking historical highs, sell 10% for every 20% increase. For example, if ETH rises from $4000 to $4800 (20%), sell 10%; if it rises to $5760 (another 20%), sell another 10%, locking in profits without missing future increases.
Wealth management appreciation: Store coins that won’t be moved for a long time in exchange wealth management (Binance’s flexible annualized rate of 3%-5%), ETH staking annualized rate of 4%-6%, effectively 'adding interest' to assets, earning some pocket money even in bear markets.
(3) Profit Cases: Certainty from exchanging time for space.
Bought ETH in 2020 at $400, sold half at $4,000 in 2021, earning 9 times; sold the remaining half at $3,000 in 2024, total returns of 10 times. I went through a low point when it dropped to $880 in 2022, but since it was spare money, I held on.
In 2023, bought SOL at $20, sold two-thirds for $200 in 2024, earning 9 times; set a trailing stop for the remaining, even if it falls back to $100, I can still secure 8 times profit.
Two, contract trading: High-return 'double-edged sword,' I made 80% with 5 times leverage, but also faced liquidation with 100 times leverage.
'Can contracts be done?' My answer is: yes, but 90% of people are not suitable. It’s like a sharp knife; used correctly, it can quickly cut meat, but used incorrectly, it can chop off your own hand.
1. Only engage in contracts under two market conditions.
Increase positions when the trend is clear: When Bitcoin breaks a key resistance level (e.g., breaking $30,000 in 2023 and holding), use 3-5 times leverage to follow the trend, without guessing the top.
Reverse operations during extreme emotions: After market FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) causes a crash (e.g., following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March 2023, BTC dropping below $20,000), use small positions to bottom fish; when the greed index exceeds 90 (e.g., at the peak of the bull market in 2021), short with light positions.
2. Risk control rules that must be ingrained.
Leverage ≤5 times: Over 10 times leverage is gambling with your life. With 5 times leverage, a 20% reversal in the market means liquidation; there’s enough time to stop loss; with 100 times leverage, a 1% reversal leads to liquidation, even a deity can't save you.
Stop loss = lifeline: A single loss must not exceed 5% of the principal. For example, with a principal of $100,000, the maximum loss per trade is $5,000, and cut losses immediately when the point is hit, regardless of whether 'it will bounce back.'
No more than 2 trades a day: Frequent trading will definitely lead to losses. I tried making 5 trades in one day, winning 3 and losing 2, but in the end, I lost money on fees and my emotions were shattered.
3. Lessons from liquidation are more valuable than profit cases.
2022 LUNA crash: Seeing it drop 90%, I impulsively used 100 times leverage to bottom fish, resulting in zero within half an hour, losing $300,000, equivalent to two years' salary.
Overtrading in 2023: After three consecutive losing trades, wanting to 'make it back in one go,' I leveraged against the trend, resulting in a 30% drawdown of my principal, taking 3 months to recover.
Conclusion: Contracts are 'magnifiers' that can amplify profits but also amplify greed and fear. Ordinary people are best not to touch them; if you really want to, practice with a simulated account for six months, and only use real funds when you can consistently profit, and invest no more than 10% of your principal.
Three, NFTs and Meme Coins: High-risk, high-reward 'speculative games,' quick entry and exit is the way to go.
If cash is savings, contracts are stocks, then NFTs and meme coins are 'lottery tickets' — you can get rich if you win, but if you don’t, it crashes to zero. I only dare to play this part with 'spending money,' converting any profits into mainstream coins promptly.
1. NFT Investment: Catch the right 'blue chips' and 'new concepts.'
Only touch blue-chip NFTs: BAYC, Pudgy Penguins, which have been tested through bull and bear markets, have good liquidity, and even if they drop, there are still buyers. Buying BAYC in 2021, it dropped 60% in the bear market of 2022, but returned to its peak in 2024, relying on 'consensus.'
Free Mint Ambush: Before new projects launch, pay attention to Discord communities and participate in early activities to claim NFTs (Mint) for free. In 2021, I claimed a small image for free, which later rose to 2 ETH (about $8,000 at the time); these 'zero-cost opportunities' are worth waiting for.
Focus on new concept tracks: In 2024, when the ERC404 concept was hot, I bought Pandora and saw it rise 10 times, but I took profits quickly; once the heat of such concepts passes, they can drop quickly.
2. Meme Coins: Earn from 'emotional differences,' don't believe in 'value.'
Play only in the initial stage of launches: ambush in the community before the Uniswap launch (e.g., before PEPE, WIF), and sell after it rises several times, never fantasizing about 'hundredfold coins.'
Set strict stop losses: Always set stop losses when buying meme coins, cut losses at 20%, regardless of whether 'it will bounce back.' I’ve bought 5 meme coins, 3 went to zero, and 2 earned 5-8 times, pulling total returns positive through stop losses.
Case Study: In 2023, bought PEPE, invested $5,000, sold after a 5 times increase, earning $25,000 converted to ETH; in 2024, bought WIF, invested $10,000, exited after 8 times; the profits from these two trades are enough for a year of family travel, but the capital invested was actually very small.
Four, the underlying logic of continuously making money in the crypto world: Protect the principal and earn money within your understanding.
After 10 years of ups and downs, I’ve summarized 5 'survival rules' suitable for anyone wanting to make money long-term in crypto:
Focus on spot trading, with other investments as a supplement: place 80% of funds in mainstream coins like BTC, ETH, and 20% in contracts, NFTs, and other high-risk varieties; even if the latter completely loses, it won't affect the overall situation.
Invest disposable income, do not use leverage: Trade with money that won’t be used for 3-5 years, losses won’t affect life, keeping your mindset stable, allowing you to endure bull and bear markets.
Airdrop arbitrage, zero-cost accumulation: pay more attention to the airdrop activities of new projects (e.g., early participation in Layer2 project interactions), zero-cost wool pulling, accumulating little by little; in 2023, I earned $50,000 from airdrops, equivalent to 'free money.'
Stay away from 'junk coins': 90% of altcoins are tools for teams to raise money; remember 'coins that rise rapidly are not necessarily good; those that drop slowly are more reliable.'
Continuously learn new tracks: The crypto world changes too quickly; 2021's DeFi, 2023's AI, 2024's RWA, every new track offers opportunities, and those who don’t learn will be eliminated.
Lastly, I want to say: There are many ways to make money in the crypto world, but what allows you to stay in this market long-term is not a single windfall, but the ability to 'not lose big money.' Spot trading earns money over time, contracts earn money through discipline, and NFTs and meme coins earn money through luck — find what suits you, hold your ground, and you can survive and earn your share in this jungle.
Important Reminder (personal sharing, absolutely not advice):
Personal experiences and practices are purely experience sharing and do not constitute any investment advice! Cryptocurrency is extremely risky, with severe price fluctuations; losing it all can happen in an instant. Please remember:
* Never use borrowed money or living expenses to trade coins!
* Hearing terms like 'guaranteed profits' or 'sure wins,' immediately blacklist; 99.99% are traps.
* Before any investment decision, do your homework, and think carefully if you can bear the worst outcome.
In the crypto space, only those who survive are the winners. Let’s encourage each other; I hope we can all find our way in this jungle.
