Don't call me some kind of guru—I’m just a veteran who’s been beaten black and blue in the crypto market. Back in 2019, when Bitcoin got cut in half, I was liquidated on the spot. In 2021, I chased altcoins and lost so much I could only survive on instant noodles. If I’m still here today, it’s all thanks to the lessons I learned the hard way, burning real money over and over again.

Take the recent market for example. On the day Bitcoin dropped below $86,000, over 170,000 people were liquidated in 24 hours. $528 million vanished in an instant. That’s when you realize—surviving is a thousand times more important than making money.

Last year, a friend came to me with $2,700, hoping to make up for previous losses. I didn’t bother with complicated technical indicators—just gave him three very simple rules. He stuck to them for three months, grew his account to $50,000, and wasn’t wiped out even in this week’s crash.

**Let’s start with position splitting.**

Take that $2,700 and divide it into three parts, $900 each, no exceptions. The first part is for short-term trades—no more than two trades a day, and then shut the app down. The longer you stare at the screen, the itchier your hands get, and that’s when you make mistakes. The second part waits for big moves—if the weekly chart hasn’t clearly turned bullish or there’s no breakout with volume at a key level, don’t touch it. Charging in during a choppy market is like jumping into a fire pit. The third part is your lifeline. If ETH crashes 7% in a day, that’s your backup for margin calls. Getting liquidated is like losing a finger—if you lose your principal, you’re done for.

**Next, the secret to taking profits.**

I used to get wrecked nine times out of ten in a sideways market. Now, I stick to one rule: if the daily moving averages aren’t lined up, I ignore it—don’t worry about missing out. Only when there’s a breakout above the previous high with strong volume and a close above that level do I try a small position. If I make 30%, I take out half the profit right away, and set a 10% trailing stop on the rest. Only profits in your hand count.

**Finally, self-discipline.**

Write your plan down before you enter a trade, set a 3% stop loss, and close the position automatically if it hits—don’t think “maybe if I wait, it’ll come back.” When profits hit 10%, move your stop loss to your entry price—everything after that is pure gain. Shut down at midnight, no matter how tempting the charts look—a lack of emotional control is the biggest pitfall in this market.

Right now, the entire crypto market has shed $1.2 trillion. Opportunities are everywhere, every day, but if you lose your principal, you’re done for good. Forget the flashy wave theories and complicated indicators for now—burn these few rules into your bones. The more respect you show this market, the safer you’ll be.