The moment my account balance jumped to 344,000U, I stared at the screen in a daze for half a minute. My finger trembled as it went over the numbers - 58 days ago, this number was still 1280U, glaring like a taunt.
That was the wreckage after my seventh liquidation. I couldn't afford half a hand of ETH, rent reminder texts filled my inbox, and I didn't even have the courage to open the exchange APP. When a debt collection call came, I was squatting at a convenience store door eating a cold bun, and the roar from the receiver made passersby turn their heads.
You might think that I must have stumbled upon some skyrocketing altcoin. But I must clarify: not a single cent of this 344,000 U has relied on luck. It all depended on three seemingly 'self-sabotaging' decisions that carved out a path for me in the sea of corpses and blood in the crypto world.
1. Don't chase trends, only tackle 'hard bones': give up 99% of the opportunities, and instead seize that guaranteed 1%.
I used to be a typical 'news chaser'. Whichever group chat was the most active, or the K-line chart of which coin was flooding the friends circle, I would pounce on it like a shark smelling blood. Last year, I chased a so-called 'AI concept new coin', betting all my savings when it was 2 dollars, but it crashed directly to 0.3 dollars, 8000U evaporated without a trace, and when the system warned of liquidation, I was still calculating 'how much I could multiply'.
On the third day after my seventh liquidation, I sat on the rooftop staring at the screen full of 'wealth codes' and suddenly woke up: those coins shouting 'taking off soon' in the group are mostly the last shout before the big players offload. The coins that can really rise never need to rely on shouting to get people on board.
From that day on, I put a deadlock on myself: only trade BTC, ETH, and three mainstream coins (SOL, ADA, DOT) that I have tracked for three years. I don't even glance at altcoins, new projects, or 'newcomers' that launch on the exchange.
In these 58 days, I encountered only four coins, all of which have consensus, volume, and clear trends:
ETH rose from 2000 dollars to 2800 dollars, and I captured the slowing trend from the starting point, solidly making a 40%;
SOL traded back and forth in the 100-150 dollar range, making 3 swing trades, entering at support and exiting at resistance, as steady as picking up money;
BTC fluctuated between 30000-42000 dollars, making 5 short trades with a small position, accumulating quite a bit.
Not chasing trends actually yields the most stable returns. It’s not that my skills suddenly improved; it’s that I finally stopped being led by 'the loudest voices'. There are 100 'get rich quick opportunities' in the crypto world every day, but 99 of them are bait with hooks; capturing the last real one is enough to get by.
2. Never go all in, leave a way out: divide 1280U into 5 parts, and run faster instead.
Only after seven consecutive liquidations did I chew out a principle: the real risk is not market fluctuations, but that you haven't left yourself an escape route.
During my last liquidation, I went all in on an altcoin with 10x leverage just because someone in the group said 'the big player is going to pump 10 times'. A small spike came, and my account was wiped clean. That night, I stared at the ceiling thinking: if I had only invested half my position then, would there have been a chance to turn things around?
So this time around, I set two 'chains' for all my trades:
The position for a single trade must not exceed 20% of the total capital;
Leverage at most 3 times; even seeing a 'sure win' opportunity, do not break this rule.
When I only had 1280U left, I divided it into 5 equal parts. For the first trade, I only used 256U, with 3x leverage to make a long position on BTC, setting a stop-loss at 28500 dollars. At that time, BTC had just rebounded from 29000 dollars, and I entered around 30000 dollars, finally taking profit at 33000 dollars, netting 400U.
Not counting the windfall, but the account turned into 1680U, a solid 1.3 times increase. More importantly, I wasn't forced out. After that, with each profit, I converted half into USDT as a 'safety net', while the rest continued to be split into five parts in cycles. This way, even if a trade goes wrong, I would only revert to the previous stage and not go back to square one overnight.
You can never guess whether a black swan will appear in the next second, whether there will be a spike, or whether there will be a sudden crash, but you can decide whether to fully invest while standing on the edge of a cliff. Controlling your position is not being conservative; it is the hardest survival philosophy in the crypto world - surviving gives you the qualification to wait for the market.
3. Dare to stop-loss, and you'll live longer: a 5% loss threshold has become my lifeline.
"If it drops a bit more, it will rebound." "Selling now is too much of a loss; I'll wait until I break even and then leave." - These words used to loop in my head every day, like a spell forcing me to hold on.
Two years ago, when trading ADA, it dropped from 1.5 dollars to 1.2 dollars. Clearly at the stop-loss point, I comforted myself with 'normal pullback.' It then fell all the way to 0.8 dollars, and my account evaporated by 70%. After that, I almost deleted my account and quit the circle, but an old fan's words awakened me: 'Stop-loss is not admitting defeat; it is preserving your bullets for the next battle.'
This time, I set a 'death line' for every trade: calculate beforehand the maximum loss I can afford, default to a loss not exceeding 5% of the principal, and automatically stop-loss when the time is up, never hesitate.
For instance, if using 1000U for a trade, only allow a maximum loss of 50U, and regardless of how reluctant I feel when the time is up, immediately close the position. When trading DOT in May, I entered at 8 dollars, with a stop-loss set at 7.6 dollars. The market then crashed to 7.5 dollars, and I was automatically liquidated, losing only 50U. But that evening, DOT dropped to 6.8 dollars, and a brother who held on in the group was liquidated, losing 20,000 U.
It was later that I understood that the essence of stop-loss is not 'accepting losses', but 'controlling losses'. In 58 days, I stopped-lossed a total of 11 times, with losses adding up to less than 800U, but the profitable trades together earned 330,000 U. If I hadn't stopped-lossed once, I might have been out long ago.
Smart traders understand: the crypto market is not short of opportunities; what is lacking is 'when the opportunity comes, you still have capital left'. Only those who dare to stop-loss can survive to the next wave of the market.
Not just me; those who follow suit are also recovering.
I not only used this method myself, but also taught several loyal followers in the community, and the results were increasingly impressive:
Xiao Zhang: Started with 300U, two months later the account reached 12000U, paying off all credit card debts;
Old Li: Previously lost 200,000, used the method of 'avoiding hot spots + swing trading', regained 40% in half a month, now earning a stable 1000U daily;
Xiao Wang: In 58 days only made 9 trades, stopped loss on 1, profited on 8, the account doubled steadily, the rhythm is as stable as a fund manager.
Their success does not rely on 'inside information' or 'divine predictions'; it is all about sticking to execution - repeating simple rules 100 times naturally makes you a master.
Want to turn things around? Start with these 3 things
If you are also stuck in losses right now, why not try my method:
Only trade coins I am familiar with, blacklisting 99% of the hot spots;
Divide the principal into 5-10 parts, and never exceed the position limit for a single trade;
Draw a stop-loss line before entering the market, and leave when the point is reached, don't bet against the market.
The crypto world has never been about who runs the fastest, but about who can stand firm. I proved in 58 days that even if I only had 1280U left, as long as the method is right and discipline is maintained, I could still turn things around.
May you soon get through the loss period and welcome your own wave of the market.#btc70k