There is an interesting phenomenon—those who make money are not necessarily the ones who trade the most frequently; rather, it is those who can control themselves that live the longest. The crypto world market changes rapidly, but what truly determines fate is often not how smart you are, but how many mistakes you can make.

**The principal will never be all-in**

I have seen too many traders go all in, and as soon as the market has a slight spike, it's game over. Once, I took a friend with a principal of 3600 USDT and forcefully split it into three parts of 1200 each:

The first part is for short-term trading - at most two trades per day, take profits at 5% immediately, and cut losses at 3% without any negotiation. The second part waits for the big trend - if the weekly chart hasn't shown a bullish candle, don't touch it, even if you miss the upward movement. The third part acts as insurance - only make a move if the first two parts have exploded, this is your emergency reserve.

The truth is quite harsh: opportunities arise every day, but without capital, you don't even have the qualification to participate. The purpose of diversifying your investments isn't to get rich quickly, but to survive long enough to wait for the real opportunities.

**Only eat the fish belly, don't gnaw on the fish head**

The most common mistake retail investors make is trying to accurately time the top and bottom, only to be repeatedly slapped in the face. My trading rules are mercilessly simple:

If I can't understand the market trends, I stay in cash - when the daily moving averages haven't formed a clear bullish arrangement, I just sit and watch. I have to wait for the price to break through the previous high with significant volume and stay above that level for three consecutive trading days before taking action. Although this means I might occasionally miss the initial gains, it helps me avoid those deadly spikes.

Specific example: Last month, BTC was consolidating sideways, and there were a bunch of people in the forum eager to buy the dip. I waited until it broke through $60,000 with volume, and only followed up after the daily line confirmed the close. As a result, although I made less on the intermediate fluctuations, I avoided the subsequent waves of waterfalls. There are also rules for taking profits — when I earn 30%, I take half of the principal off the table, and I set a 10% trailing stop for the remaining position, letting the rest extend on its own.

**Human nature is the greatest enemy**

In the crypto world, the biggest killer has never been the market itself, but your own mind. Write down your entire trading plan before entering a position—entry conditions, stop-loss price, target profit, and never change it. Those who are tempted to change their plans the moment the market fluctuates are nine times out of ten the ones who end up losing.