8 Years Surviving in Crypto: Once Lost 120K USD in One Night and Here Are 3 Lessons I Paid for

In 2022, when the entire market was trembling because a major platform suddenly “blew up,” the chart on my account was going wild: over $120,000 in profit from a perfectly timed ETH short.

But for the past three years, that money has been sitting untouched in a cold wallet—I didn’t dare touch it. Not because I wanted to hold long-term, but because I understood: for every dollar I made, there was the cry of someone who got crushed by the market.

Eight years in this market turned me from someone who just followed the crowd into someone who trusts no one but myself. And today, I want to share the three most hard-earned lessons—or rather, the tuition bills I had to pay. Read this, and you’ll save at least tens of thousands of dollars.

1. Don’t Trust “Magic Signals.” Always Verify Before Jumping In 90% of people lose when following signals—not because they’re bad, but because they trust the wrong person.

I once got led by a “signal master.” He posted that ETH was going to “fly past $10,000,” and I naively went all-in on margin.

The result? He secretly took profits first, leaving me and other newbies holding the bag when the price was slammed the other way.

After that, I developed a golden rule called the “Delay Filter”: Never enter a trade immediately after someone calls a signalAlways wait 15–30 minutesWatch to see: does the market really follow the direction they said, or is it just a “pump and dump” to trigger FOMO?

Just this small change increased my win rate when following signals from 35% to 60–65%.

Remember: Good traders never have five hours to livestream “teaching you how to get rich.” The more someone shows off their account, the more they want you to be a pawn.

2. The “Serial Loser” List Is More Valuable Than the “Pro Trader” List Sounds strange, but it’s true: If you want to follow the trend → find good traders. If you want to go against the trend → find people who are consistently wrong.

I keep a blacklist called the “Three-Time Losers Group”: Anyone who predicts the market wrong three times in a rowAnyone whose stop loss gets hit and the price immediately reverses

→ I add them to my watchlist.

Why? These people unintentionally become perfect contrarian indicators. Many times I made a month’s profit simply by waiting for them to… cut loss, then entering in the opposite direction.

But remember one thing: Whether you’re following or going against someone, always set a stop loss.

One time in 2021, I went against a famous person who was often wrong. Didn’t set a stop loss because I was overconfident.

Result: the market pumped 200 points straight. Almost wiped out a year’s worth of profits in one move.

In the crypto market, anyone can be 100% wrong during extreme volatility. Stop loss is your last safety net.

3. Don’t Let “Win Rate” Fool You – Real Money Makers Only Care About PROFIT RATE So many people brag: “I win 80% of trades”“This strategy wins 9 out of 10 times”

But hold on. I once tracked a year’s worth of my trades: Win rate was just 47%Less than half my trades were winners

So why was I still profitable? Because my average winning trades made 3x more than my losing trades.

Crypto doesn’t reward those who win often; it rewards those who win big and lose small.

The harsh truth: 60% of the time, the market is in “junk” mode—no trend, no real opportunities. Following signals during these times just drains both your and the signal provider’s accounts.

When the charts are “spiking like crazy,” the best thing to do is: Close the appDon’t tradeSave your energy for when the market really “opens the wallet”

Real Talk: Crypto Is a “Zero-Sum Game” – But You Don’t Have to Lose Everything I’ve seen: People borrowing at high interest to chase trades and lose everythingPeople using their parents’ retirement money to all-in on “pros”People who disappeared from group chats after a single stop loss sweep in despair

In the end, I realized: It’s not about who can make money—it’s about who can keep their money.

For the past three years, I completely stopped following signals. I only: Read charts myselfAnalyze trends myselfChoose my own entry and exit times

I make less profit than before, but I sleep well at night. And in crypto, that peace of mind… is the most luxurious asset.

A word to newcomers: Don’t hope for a “shortcut.” Following signals means you’re betting on someone else’s mistakes. But who can guarantee that one day, you won’t become the one making those mistakes yourself?