Last year, I witnessed a pretty remarkable case.

A friend entered the market with $1,500, and three months later, his account balance had grown to $80,000—with zero liquidations during the process. You might think he just got lucky? Wrong. His greatest skill wasn't technical analysis, but—taking advice.

He strictly followed three principles that seem simple on paper but are incredibly difficult to execute.

**First: Divide your money into separate portions.**

Most beginners love to go all in. If prices go up, they’re over the moon; if prices drop, they're crying under the covers. He was different. He split his $1,500 into three equal parts: $500 for short-term trades—only taking one opportunity a day, and if the market didn’t feel right, he’d just sit out; $500 for swing trades—not making a move unless the trend was clear; and the last $500 as untouchable principal, no matter what. With this simple strategy, he came out unscathed during the last market crash.

**Second: Don’t try to catch the entire move from bottom to top.**

Most of the time, the crypto market is just grinding sideways, with choppy movements that make your hands itch and test your patience. The result of frequent trading? Fees and fake breakouts eat up all your profits. He learned one thing: If the market doesn’t move, neither does he—only taking action when a real opportunity arises. If any position made over 20% profit, he’d secure some gains, never getting emotionally attached to market swings. During last week’s ZEC rally, he captured the juiciest part in the middle and exited cleanly with a 30% profit—a textbook operation.

**Third: Be a cold-blooded money-making machine.**

You’re not here to make friends in the market. Down 2%? Cut the loss immediately. Up 4%? Take some profits. When he first started following these rules, he struggled and felt the pain, but looking back now, every rule was a lifesaver.

Yesterday, he told me, “Now my heart doesn’t even skip a beat watching the charts. I cut losses when I need to, hold when I should, and only do what needs to be done.”

This market doesn’t care if you’re smart or not—it only cares if you follow the rules. If you’re still trading by gut feeling, panicking at every swing, or dreaming of doubling your money overnight, the market will teach you a lesson sooner or later—it’s just a matter of time.

Truth is, the secret to making money isn’t in technical indicators, it’s in discipline. Only those who can control their hands and their emotions can survive in this market for the long run.