1. Unwrapping the packaging of 'easy money': Is the Martingale strategy really a money printer?
Recently, I often see people touting '50,000 USDT principal + Martingale strategy = monthly income of 20,000 USDT', making it sound as simple as picking up money. But as an old hand in the crypto market who has survived through two rounds of bull and bear markets, I will state my conclusion directly: the essence of this strategy is 'exchanging big risks for small returns', and playing it long-term is likely to lead to liquidation.
The so-called Martingale strategy is to double the position when it drops, relying on lowering the cost to profit from the rebound. It sounds great, but are there not enough black swan events in the crypto world? For example, in December this year, Bitcoin dropped below $89,000 in a single day, and many people lost everything. Even if your principal is sufficient, once you encounter extreme market conditions, there may not even be an opportunity to average down.
Ironically, these strategies often make a bit of money in a volatile market, making people relax their vigilance, and when a trending market comes, it directly wipes everything out. I have friends who used a Martingale strategy with leverage last year, made money for three months, but then lost all their annual profits and even had to cover their principal in one crash.
2. What are the real passive income sources in the crypto world? Rationally analyze returns and risks
If you want to earn steadily, it’s better to focus on a few market-validated methods (note: none can guarantee 'risk-free profits'):
Staking
Operational logic: pledge tokens on PoS public chains (like Ethereum 2.0, Cosmos) to act as verification nodes, earning network issuance rewards.
Actual returns: annualized are usually 5%-15%, for example, ATOM staking returns are about 10.84%.
Personal experience: stable returns, suitable for long-term holders, but token price fluctuations may eat into interest. I allocated some ETH for staking on Lido; the returns are higher than banks, but I have to endure a lock-up period.
Liquidity mining
Operational logic: provide liquidity for trading pairs on decentralized exchanges (like Uniswap) to earn transaction fee dividends + governance token rewards.
Risk warning: the biggest pitfall is 'impermanent loss'. When the price difference between two tokens widens, losses may exceed fee gains. I once rushed into a niche pool for a high APY (annualized 300%+), and as a result, the token price plummeted, leading to a loss of 20%.
Lending
Centralized platforms: like Binance Earn, USDT annualized returns are about 3%-10%. The advantage is that it is simple to operate, but you need to trust the platform (refer to the BlockFi incident).
DeFi lending: such as Aave, Compound, with annualized returns of 2%-8%, but you need to bear the risk of smart contracts and on-chain gas fees.
Funding rate arbitrage
This is one of the relatively stable arbitrage strategies: when the perpetual contract funding rate is positive, simultaneously open equivalent spot long and contract short positions to hedge price fluctuations and purely earn the funding fee.
Challenges: need precise calculation of hedging ratios, monitor for liquidation, annualized can reach 15%-30%, but the operational threshold is high and not suitable for beginners.
3. The truth about 'signal harvesting'
Those who showcase high-return screenshots and entice you to 'follow them to get rich' are mostly earning commissions from their referrals. Exchanges favor high-yield strategies, but such strategies often involve extreme risks—what you see are their profitable trades, not the accounts they quietly reopened after blowing up.
To be honest: if there was truly a strategy that guaranteed stable monthly returns of 40%, they would have already made their fortune quietly and wouldn’t need to laboriously attract others.
4. To survive in the crypto world, first learn how to 'not lose'
Don't believe in 'easy money'
Behind all high returns in the crypto world are corresponding risks. Staking may encounter node penalties, lending platforms may run away, and even stablecoins have de-pegged (like the UST crash). Ordinary people who want to participate must remember:
Only invest spare money; losing it won't affect your life;
Prioritize mainstream coins and compliant platforms (like Binance, OKX);
Diversify allocations; don’t go all-in on a single strategy.
Small funds should be more cautious
50,000 U (about 360,000 RMB) is not a small amount for most people. If you are determined to chase a monthly income of 20,000 U (annualized 480%), you might as well buy a lottery ticket; the odds might be better.
Rational goals: long-term annualized returns that can outpace inflation (8%-15%) are already impressive. For example, through a combination of staking and lending, aiming for around 10% annualized return is much more manageable in terms of risk.
Counteracting human greed
Why do most people lose money? It's not because of poor skills, but because they succumb to 'FOMO emotions' (fear of missing out) and 'gambling psychology'. After a sudden drop, they are unwilling to cut losses and instead increase their positions to bet on a rebound, ultimately losing everything and exiting.
5. If you still want to try: my bottom line advice
Simulated trading start: run any strategy on a simulated account for 1 month to verify win rate and drawdown rate;
Position control: single investment should not exceed 5% of total funds, leverage should be below 3 times;
Stop-loss rule: set a hard stop-loss at 10%, and leave decisively if you hit that line;
Continuous learning: pay attention to on-chain data (such as Token circulation and locked amount), and look less at 'signal groups'.
The crypto world lacks opportunities, but there are always more traps than opportunities. The so-called 'easy money' is mostly a harvesting game hidden under anxiety. Solidly enhancing your knowledge and using spare money for long-term layouts is more likely to lead to success than chasing myths of sudden wealth.
Follow Xiang Ge to learn more first-hand information and precise points about the crypto world, becoming your navigation in this space; learning is your greatest wealth!#加密市场反弹 #美联储降息 $ETH
