In the cryptocurrency market, the story of 'financial freedom' is always legendary, but behind it are the real experiences of ordinary people struggling through the ups and downs — some have lost 500,000 savings by chasing high altcoins, some have doubled their assets by dollar-cost averaging Bitcoin during a bear market, and some have pulled themselves from the abyss of contract trading to focus on value investing. These real cases can show us much more than the myth of 'getting rich overnight': on the road to financial freedom through trading, what truly matters is not luck, but the knowledge and strategies accumulated after going through bull and bear markets.
Case 1: From 'betting on altcoins' to 'focusing on index investment', he recouped a loss of 500,000 in 3 years.
In 2021, at the peak of the bull market, the recently graduated Xiaolin was attracted by the news in the community that 'altcoins increased by 10 times', taking 500,000 yuan provided by his parents for startup funding and betting on 3 new projects claiming to be 'metaverse concepts'. Initially, the token prices rose 20% with the market heat, and Xiaolin excitedly increased his position, even borrowing 100,000 in leverage. But the good times didn't last long; in 2022, the bear market began, and these 3 projects successively faced issues of 'team disappearance' and 'white paper fraud', with token prices plummeting to zero. Xiaolin not only lost all his principal but also incurred debts.
During the low period, Xiaolin did not give up; he began to review the reasons for his losses: not researching project fundamentals, blindly chasing high prices, and increasing leverage which amplified risks. After reflecting on his mistakes, he adjusted his strategy: allocating 20% of his monthly salary to dollar-cost averaging into Bitcoin and Ethereum—these two coins have withstood the tests of bull and bear markets, and have the most mature ecosystems. Although the market remained sluggish from 2022 to 2023, the dollar-cost averaging cost was continuously reduced; when the Bitcoin halving market started in 2024 and the price broke through 60,000 USD, his holding gains had exceeded 100%, not only recouping previous losses but also accumulating his first considerable asset.
Xiaolin's experience confirms a principle: in the cryptocurrency market, 'not making mistakes' is more important than 'making quick money'. Abandoning the fantasy of 'hundredfold coins', he chose mainstream coins that had long-term value support, using dollar-cost averaging to counter market volatility, which instead allowed him to reap stable returns through the compounding effect of time.
Case 2: After two liquidations in contract trading, she achieved an average monthly profit of 15% through 'trend judgment + risk control'.
Sister Li is an investor with 5 years of stock trading experience. After entering the cryptocurrency market in 2020, she felt that spot trading was 'too slow to make money', and turned to contract trading—leveraging to amplify profits, achieving a 20% gain within a day. Initially, she made profits for 3 consecutive months based on her judgment of market trends, increasing her account from 100,000 to 300,000. However, after her confidence swelled, she began to ignore risks: no longer setting stop-loss orders, frequently trading, and heavily betting on a single currency.
In May 2021, Bitcoin plummeted 15% in a single day. Sister Li's long position had no stop-loss set and immediately faced liquidation, with her principal of 300,000 reduced to only 20,000. Unwilling to accept this, she invested another 100,000 to 'break even', but ended up facing liquidation again during another round of plummeting in November of the same year. These two liquidations made Sister Li completely wake up: the core of contract trading is not about 'how much to earn', but 'how to survive'.
After restarting, Sister Li established strict trading rules: controlling the leverage ratio within 5x, setting a stop-loss of 5%-8% for each trade, not exceeding 20% of the principal for a single position, and reducing trading frequency, only entering the market when there is a clear trend. Gradually, her account began to stabilize and profit, maintaining an average monthly return of around 15%. Although this was not as much as when she was 'aggressive', it was sustainable, and she finally understood: there is no shortcut to 'turning around overnight' in the cryptocurrency market; only by respecting risks and maintaining discipline can one achieve long-term profits.
Case 3: From 'following KOLs' to 'deeply researching the track', he achieved a 5-fold increase in assets in 3 years through DeFi layout.
Old Zhou, who entered the cryptocurrency market in 2018, is an 'old leek'. In the early days of trading stocks, he was used to 'listening to expert recommendations', and continued this habit after entering crypto—watching analysis videos from crypto KOLs every day, and seeing 'insider news' in the community. Whatever coin the KOL said was good, he would buy, resulting in over a year, buying more than 20 different coins, most of which either stagnated or plummeted, with his principal loss exceeding 60%.
'Why do the coins recommended by KOLs drop when I buy them?' With this question, Old Zhou began to research on his own: he discovered that many KOL-recommended projects were either for 'cutting leeks' to earn promotion fees or had already passed their rising cycle, with ordinary investors buying in just as large holders were offloading. Thus, Old Zhou decided to abandon 'listening to news' and focus deeply on the fields he was familiar with—being a financial practitioner, he found the logic of 'Decentralized Finance (DeFi)' easier to understand and concentrated his efforts on the DeFi track.
He started researching from the most basic DeFi protocols (like Aave, Compound), analyzing their lending mechanisms, profit models, and changes in locked amounts, then comparing the competitive advantages of different protocols to select projects with a complete ecosystem, reliable teams, and stable data. In the early explosion of DeFi in 2020, he laid out tokens for projects like Aave and Uniswap. Over the next 3 years, despite the market experiencing cycles of bull and bear, the token prices of these high-quality DeFi projects still achieved significant growth, and Old Zhou's assets multiplied 5 times as a result.
Old Zhou's experience teaches us: the 'wealth code' of the cryptocurrency market has never been in others' recommendations, but in one's own understanding. Only by deeply researching a specific track and truly understanding the value of the projects can one hold firm during market fluctuations and ultimately reap the dividends of industry development.
The common insight from three investors: achieving financial freedom through trading is essentially 'cognitive monetization'.
Looking back at the experiences of Xiaolin, Sister Li, and Old Zhou, although their starting points and strategies differ, they all transitioned from losses to profits due to three core cognitive shifts.
First, abandon the 'fantasy of getting rich quickly' and accept 'gradually becoming rich'. In the cryptocurrency market, 'hundredfold coins' and 'thousandfold coins' are merely low-probability events, often accompanied by extremely high risks. Those who can truly achieve financial freedom understand the need to respect the market, do not pursue short-term windfalls, but rather allow their assets to grow steadily over time through long-term investment and value investment.
Second, respect risk and establish a 'risk control first' mindset. Whether in spot trading or contract trading, risk control is always the top priority—investing with spare money, avoiding leverage (or using low leverage), setting stop-losses, diversifying allocations—these seemingly 'conservative' strategies are key to surviving in a high-risk market. Many people lose not because of incorrect judgments, but because they ignore risks, ultimately being 'eliminated' by the extreme fluctuations of the market.
Third, deepen understanding to earn 'money within one's ability circle'. The cryptocurrency market has many tracks (such as public chains, DeFi, NFT, Web 3.0), and no one can master all fields. Rather than blindly following trends and buying all popular coins, it is better to choose a track you are familiar with or interested in, deeply researching the fundamentals, technical strength, and ecological prospects of the projects. Only by understanding 'why this coin is valuable' can one avoid panic during market downturns and greed during rises, ultimately achieving 'cognitive monetization'.
It is important to emphasize that the definition of 'financial freedom' is not singular—some believe it means 'having endless money', while others think it means 'not worrying about money and being able to do what one wants'. In the cryptocurrency market, true 'financial freedom' may not come from how many times one can multiply their investment through trading, but rather from the experience gained in the market, establishing a rational investment mindset, a strong risk tolerance, and a sustainable profit model. When you can maintain clarity in the market, protect your capital, and achieve steady profits, financial freedom will naturally approach you.
Follow the crypto veteran Dong to gain more insights into real case analyses of the cryptocurrency market, in-depth research on tracks, and practical investment skills, helping you navigate the complex cryptocurrency market with fewer detours, gradually building your own profit system, and steadily moving towards the goal of financial freedom.
