Last weekend, an old classmate came to vent to me, saying that business is getting harder and harder. He heard there are more opportunities in crypto and wanted to give it a try. Seeing how anxious he looked, I suddenly remembered myself from years ago—knowing nothing, but still daring to jump in with just tens of thousands of yuan.

Back then, I was just as reckless. No one to guide me, no connections, just a stubborn unwillingness to admit defeat and a determination to make it in this space. Who would have thought that after all these years, the numbers in my account would grow to a level even I could hardly believe?

Compared to friends running physical businesses, my life is definitely a lot easier—no need to beg anyone, no social obligations, no dealing with endless trivial matters. Every day, I just watch the charts and sip tea, letting my profits follow the market.

A lot of people ask me what my secret is. Honestly, there’s no shortcut to getting rich overnight in this field. After all these years, I’ve only come to realize one thing: having a steady mindset is more useful than any technical indicator. Today, I’ll share some of my “survival rules.” For those who can truly take them to heart, you’ll at least save yourself several years’ worth of tuition.

**Rule #1: Follow the leaders, don’t act smart**

In the crypto market, the status of mainstream coins is unshakable. They’re like the barometer for the whole space—when the leaders rise, the smaller coins get to enjoy some gains; when the leaders fall, no matter how strong the altcoins are, they’re done for.

Sometimes you’ll see certain small coins pumping hard, but that’s just short-term volatility. The ones that can really hold their ground are always those few top coins. So my portfolio allocation is simple: most of my funds go into mainstream coins as ballast, and only a small portion is used to chase high-risk, high-reward opportunities.

Over the years, I’ve seen too many people lose everything chasing hot trends, and I’ve also seen quite a few people quietly get rich just holding mainstream coins. The first lesson the market taught me is: don’t go against the trend. Going with the flow is the real key.