You might not believe it, but it took me three full years to truly understand what "not panicking over money" means.

First year? I was thinking about doubling my investment every day, but I didn’t achieve my goal, and I experienced liquidations all over the place. Second year? I learned to be smarter and started seriously studying stop-loss strategies, at least plugging some of the holes. By the third year, relying on a few DIY methods I figured out myself, I actually dared to quit my job — not because I made a lot of money, but because I finally felt confident enough to focus on market analysis without worrying about next month’s rent.

At that time, I only had 20,000 yuan in New Year’s money. Looking back, if I hadn’t stuck to a few strict rules, I would have been wiped out long ago. These lessons took me a long time to ponder, and now I want to share them with you:

**Rule 1: Always divide your principal into five parts**
Only trade with one part at a time, set a 10% stop-loss — even if you lose five times in a row, that’s only a 10% total loss, nothing serious. When your profit reaches 10%, withdraw the principal and keep trading with the profits. This trick has saved me countless times.

**Rule 2: Follow the trend, don’t fight it**
Trend is like an elevator — riding with it is easier and more comfortable; fighting against it is like climbing stairs during a power outage, exhausting and easy to fall. When the price drops, don’t try to catch the bottom; that’s just giving money to the market. Only when there’s a correction in an upward trend is it relatively safe to get in.

**Rule 3: Don’t touch coins that surge wildly**
Coins that triple in three days seem tempting? That’s a death sentence. Unless you can monitor 24/7, you’re basically just a bag-holder. I’ve seen too many people rush in, only to watch their profits turn into losses.

**Rule 4: Don’t overdo indicators, three are enough**
Use MACD to judge the overall trend, RSI for overbought/oversold conditions, VPVR for support and resistance levels. I used to pile on a bunch of flashy indicators, but it only confused me. Now, after simplifying, I see much clearer.

**Rule 5: Don’t add to positions when losing, add when winning**
Adding during a dip is like setting a landmine for yourself; increasing during a rally is riding the trend. Accept your mistakes, cut your losses, and walk away. Never stubbornly hold on — that only makes losses worse.

**Rule 6: Volume doesn’t lie**
A sudden surge in volume after a low-volume move usually signals a trend start; high volume at a high price without further gains indicates big players are offloading. If you can’t read candlesticks well, watch volume — those bars built with real money are the most honest.

**Rule 7: Daily review to save tuition**
After market close, write down three things: why you bought, why you sold, and how to improve next time. Stick to this for a month, and it will help you avoid many pitfalls and save a lot on tuition fees. My current review notes are almost enough to publish a book.

In the crypto world, making money has never been about luck or gambling. How to allocate funds, seize opportunities, and control the rhythm — these are things you need to figure out slowly. Stick to the rules, be patient, and only then can you truly survive in this market.