Prologue: The 80,000 yuan down payment for my wedding house ultimately saved my life

In the summer of 2018, I did something stupid: I invested all my two years' worth of savings—80,000 yuan—into the crypto market. The market was scorching hot at the time, everyone was chasing quick profits. And then? My account plummeted from 2.3 million to just 220,000 in an instant. Lying in a hotel in Phuket, I had to count every penny for drinks. Since then, over ten years, I’ve transformed from a hardcore gambler into a data analyst. Today, I’m not here to sell anxiety; I just want to write down the rules I’ve learned through real money and blood over these years.

**Rule 1: Only engage with opportunities you understand; hot projects aren’t necessarily your cup of tea**

Back then, I was insanely jealous of NFT gains, rushing in after seeing others’ returns, without even finishing reading the project documents. I lost 250,000 yuan in three days. Later, after repeated reflection, I realized— you can’t earn more than your understanding allows.

Information in the crypto space is always asymmetric. Projects hyped by big influencers might just be their way of offloading their own holdings. Truly promising projects are hidden in active on-chain data and community-building details.

My current strategy is simple and straightforward: invest only in two types. First, mainstream assets with clear logic like BTC and ETH; second, real projects that can be verified through on-chain data. No matter how flashy the new concept or tempting the rise, if I don’t understand it, I refuse to touch it. Better to miss out on quick gains than to end up losing everything and being broke.

**Rule 2: Position management is your guarantee to survive; going all-in is suicidal**

I’ve seen too many people put all their eggs in one basket—feeling proud when prices rise, collapsing when they fall. My current position allocation looks like this:

Safe ballast (50%): Mainly BTC and ETH, these assets have relatively stable volatility and can withstand risks.

Steady growth (30%): Selected layer-2 tokens or ecosystem coins with some growth potential but manageable risk.

Trial-and-error fund (20%): Used to explore new sectors; losses here won’t affect the overall picture.

What’s the benefit of this approach? Even if one sector crashes, your overall account can still survive. I’ve seen huge losses caused by losing control of psychology and over-leveraging. Combining these two always leads to disaster.

**Rule 3: Stop-loss isn’t optional; it’s your ticket to survival**

The hardest part of trading isn’t buying the dip; it’s cutting losses ruthlessly when you’re losing money. Human nature is gambler’s psychology—thinking that a 50% drop might rebound, but ultimately, it just keeps falling.

My method is to set a stop-loss level in advance. When buying, I decide the maximum percentage I can lose on that position. Once triggered, I turn around and walk away—no looking back. It sounds cold-blooded, but it’s the method used by those who survive the longest.

**Rule 4: Bear markets aren’t for throwing money; they’re golden periods for learning and accumulation**

During the bear market of 2022, I didn’t blindly buy the dip. Instead, I used this time to heavily reinforce my crypto fundamentals—learning project architecture, studying on-chain data analysis tools, researching capital flows. When the next bull market arrives, you’ll find yourself able to seize more opportunities.

Over ten years, I’ve finally realized: the crypto market always rewards those with patience, discipline, and self-control. The desire for quick profits will ultimately ruin your account and your mindset.