Always let the rules breathe for you and keep emotions at bay.
Last year, my friend Xiaolin jumped into the market with 30,000 USDT. In just 49 days, his account shrank to 3,820 USDT. At 2 AM, I received his voice message, sounding like he was crying: 'Bro, can this little bit still turn around?'
I only replied with one sentence: 'Learn to minimize losses first, then talk about making profits; otherwise, there is no difference between 30,000 and 3,000.'
I told him to immediately hit the pause button and divide the remaining money into three parts. This later became the 'three-line defense system' that saved his life.
01 Three-line defense: Put a life jacket on the funds
First line: 1820 USDT—Event strike team. Only deal with data trends, heavyweight events like non-farm payrolls, CPI, and interest rate decisions. Keep it empty during normal times, never move randomly.
Second line: 1000U——Trend Cruiser. Only look at the weekly level; open a position only when the closing price breaks through a key level. At other times, uninstall the trading software.
Third line: 1000U——Calm Fuel. This part of the money is not for trading, but a special fund for the 'calm period' after a liquidation. Once liquidated, a mandatory two-week break is enforced to go to the gym, read books, and spend time with family, completely away from the market.
I set a strict rule for him: if a single loss exceeds 4%, he must cut the position immediately; if floating profits reach 8%, he must immediately move the stop-loss to break even; if weekly drawdowns exceed 10%, he takes a break. Do not chase orders, average down, or fantasize within the 5% range of previous highs and lows.
The truly worthwhile opportunities arise when market emotions cool down, and there is a small-scale volume retracement to a key position. Most of the time, the market only provides you with noise, not real opportunities.
02 Trading is 'waiting for the rabbit', not hunting every day.
In the next three months, Xiao Lin missed countless '1000-point surges' in group chat screenshots and avoided all 'double overnight' traps.
He later told me that during that period, he was liquidated twice, but each time he was forcibly taken to rest by the 'calm fuel'—no additional positions, no borrowing money, and definitely no regretful thigh slaps.
This aligns with what an experienced trader said: the cryptocurrency market is open year-round, filled with countless opportunities and risks, but letting trading occupy your entire life is dangerous; learning to rest is crucial.
By the fourth month, his opportunity came. Non-farm data triggered significant fluctuations in gold, and he entered with a light position, setting a stop-loss of 36 points and making a profit of 320 points. In the same month, Bitcoin's weekly line retraced to a key position, and he added to his position accordingly, pushing his account up to 19,000U.
At the end of the fifth month, his account balance reached 48,000U; last night he sent me a screenshot showing that the balance had already reached 69,000U, with the equity curve rising at a 45-degree angle without any cliff-like drops.
03 Most candlesticks are just noise; there are only a few that are valuable in a year.
Now, Xiao Lin spends no more than 30 minutes a day watching the market. The rest of the time he delivers food, practices squats, and spends time with his girlfriend. He said to me: 'I used to fear missing any market movement, but now I understand that most candlesticks are just noise, and there are only a few truly valuable opportunities throughout the year.'
He developed a key habit: when profits exceed 15%, he first withdraws his capital and only continues trading with profits. This makes the mindset much easier, and decisions won't become distorted.
The core of making big money with small capital is not to pursue miraculous hundred-fold coins, but to turn the word 'wait' into muscle memory. The market will always eliminate those who wish to recover their losses overnight and then quietly reward those who can 'breathe' according to the rules.
04 My core trading philosophy
As a trader who has experienced two rounds of bull and bear markets, I firmly believe: controlling oneself is 100 times more important than controlling the market.
The fundamental reason many retail investors incur losses is emotional trading rather than a lack of technical skills. A top-notch trading strategy and risk management are key to all success; you cannot expect every trade to be profitable, but you should pursue substantial profits from correct trades and timely stop-losses on incorrect trades.
In this age of information explosion, filtering out noise is more important than collecting information. I used to be obsessed with tracking the opinions of all major influencers, but later found that it only led to confusion. Now, I focus on my own trading system and only wait for opportunities that meet my rules.
Successful trading is not about precise predictions but proper responses. Build your own trading system, clearly define your strengths, and then concentrate 99% of your energy on execution.
Xiao Lin's turnaround was not based on miraculous indicators or insider information, but rather a strict defense system and execution discipline. This system transformed him from a passive gambler chasing prices to an active hunter waiting for opportunities.
Remember, in this market, living long and steadily is the greatest victory. Follow Xiang Ge to learn more about firsthand information and precise points in the cryptocurrency world, becoming your navigator in the crypto space; learning is your greatest wealth!#加密市场反弹 #加密市场观察 $ETH
