Don't fool yourself.

Many people think that having a small principal means no chance to turn things around. In fact, the opposite is true—small account size is precisely the best stage to refine your trading system. In my long-term success stories, traders who started with just a few hundred dollars often understand risk control better than those who began with large funds.
I once had a student with only $600 in his account, and he was extremely nervous at the start. I set a simple rule for him: within a month, his account grew to $6,000, and in three months, it reached $20,000. Throughout the process, he never experienced a margin call, and his mindset remained much more stable.
What's the key? It’s about using the right method. Today, I will elaborate on this approach, which is especially suitable for friends with limited capital who want steady growth.
**First Core Principle: Divide your funds into three parts and always leave yourself a safety net**
What is the most common way small accounts get wiped out? Going all-in at once, causing the psychological defense to collapse.
My approach is this—assuming you have $600:
$200 for intraday trading. Focus on Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two mainstream coins. A 3% fluctuation range is enough for you to secure profits, and taking quick gains and exiting immediately turns it into your daily pocket money.
$200 for swing trading. Wait for clear signals on the weekly chart before acting. The holding period is about 3 to 5 days, aiming to capture the fat part of the trend.
The remaining $200 stays untouched. I mean really don’t touch it—no matter if Bitcoin drops to $10,000, don’t add to your position. The purpose of this money is to serve as your insurance for a turnaround in life.
Why divide it this way? Because 80% of the crypto market time is actually in consolidation. If you use all your funds for intraday trading, transaction fees will slowly drain you; if you use all for swing trading, you won’t withstand the sideways days, and ultimately, time will wear you down. By splitting, you earn small, stable profits intraday, and capture big trends with swing trading. The reserve acts as your ace, giving you the chance to reverse your position at any time. The reason my student survived the big drop in May was because his reserve funds remained untouched; when prices fell, he had the capacity to add to his positions.
**Second Core Principle: Follow the trend only, resolutely avoid wasting in consolidation**
The fastest way for small funds to die is overtrading. The habit of thinking missing any fluctuation is a loss, trading ten or more times a day, results in profits being eaten up by fees and slippage.
The real way to make money is this—identify the nodes where the trend forms, then follow the trend’s direction. During sideways movements, treat them as background noise. When the market repeatedly fluctuates between $20,000 and $22,000, you don’t need to jump in every time to buy the dip or sell the top, wasting energy and costs. When the weekly chart breaks through a key level and the price starts to show a clear direction, that’s your opportunity.
This system’s core is to use the least trading frequency to achieve the highest signal-to-noise ratio. For accounts with limited capital, each trade’s cost ratio is high, so every trade must count.