I have been trading cryptocurrencies for eight years, and the craziest and most unforgettable memory is captured in the 2017 carnival of altcoins. $ADA.
That year I chose ADA, starting to buy in batches from $0.03. No one expected that in just three months, it would surge to a high of $1.2. The numbers in my account multiplied nearly 40 times.
Back then, the first thing I did every morning was open the market software and watch the zeros behind my assets keep increasing. I even started calculating in my mind that this amount of money was enough to buy a house outright in the city.
But I was too greedy and never pressed the sell button. Soon after, ADA began to plummet, crashing back down to $0.2. My unrealized profits flowed away like water, 80% of my profits vanished in an instant, and the dream of buying a house was completely shattered.
This experience made me understand a principle thoroughly:
In the crypto world, knowing how to buy is at most just an entry-level skill; true experts know how to sell.
The following profit-taking and stop-loss method is a lesson I bought with real money, particularly suitable for ordinary people who don't have time to watch the market day and night.
Regarding profit-taking, I use the "ladder profit-taking method":
Assuming a coin rises from $1 to $2, I will first sell 30% of my position, so the principal is basically recovered; no matter if it goes up or down from there, my mindset will remain stable;
When it continues to rise to $3, I will reduce my position by another 30%, and for the remaining 40%, I will set a trailing stop-loss—once the price falls back by 15% from the highest point, it will automatically sell all. This way, I won't miss the main upward trend while ensuring that profits won't all be given back.
As for stop-loss, I have a rule: the loss on a single trade never exceeds 5% of the total principal.
Every time I buy, I will immediately place a conditional order, setting a -10% stop-loss line. This is like putting an insurance policy on the trade.
Don't be afraid of missing opportunities because of this; the crypto market is never short of opportunities. But once your principal is wiped out, you lose the qualification to turn things around completely.
In the past eight years, I have witnessed too many stories of overnight wealth, but I have also seen many more lose everything in the ups and downs of the roller coaster. Those who can truly leave with profits are often those who strictly adhere to discipline.
