In 2016, when I officially entered the crypto world, Bitcoin was still a few thousand dollars each. Seeing people around me multiply their investments dozens of times, I didn’t rush to follow the trend. To be honest, at that time I simply couldn’t understand what blockchain was. Later, I spent a lot of time reading whitepapers and studying code, gradually figuring out the tricks of this industry. What I want to say now is: this industry is never short of opportunities; what’s most scarce is people who can survive long enough. Today, I’ll organize the pitfalls I’ve encountered over the years, hoping to help you avoid some detours.

**1. A life vest is always more important than swimming lessons**

I’ve seen too many newbies go all-in on some altcoin right after entering the market. When it rises, it’s exhilarating; when it falls, they’re left with nothing. My approach is simple: whenever a coin rises more than 50%, I withdraw all the principal. The remaining profits? Let them fly. Even if the final profit turns to zero, at least the principal is still in the account.

The speed of cycle changes in the crypto world is evident from cases of exchange collapses and project founders fleeing. Don’t be brainwashed by stories of “hundredfold coins.” The real bottom line is to protect your principal. As long as your principal stays intact, you always have a chance to wait for the next wave of market opportunities.

**2. Only engage with opportunities you can understand; FOMO is a bottomless pit**

During the 2019 IEO wave, everyone around me was participating in new listings, but I chose to stay on the sidelines. By 2021, when Layer2 solutions gained popularity, I started researching the technical details half a year in advance and then heavily invested. Why such a big difference? Because code can’t lie, but public opinion can.

Nowadays, many project whitepapers are flashy and impressive, and the founding teams’ resumes are packaged to look like big corporate executives. But in reality, their code repositories haven’t been updated in half a year. If you can’t understand the token’s economic model, then stay away. The market creates opportunities 24/7, but once you lose money, it’s not easy to make it back.

**3. Managing your position size is more difficult and more important than guessing the right direction**

Many people crash out of trading not because they misread the trend, but because they bet the wrong amount. You must understand that even the best opportunity can wipe you out if you go all-in. My experience is to divide your total funds into several tiers: allocate 30-40% to projects you’re confident in, keep 20-30% for uncertain bets, and always keep the rest in cold storage. The biggest benefit of this approach is that even if your judgment is completely wrong on one, you won’t be wiped out.

Also, never let emotions dominate your trading decisions. It’s especially easy to become overly pessimistic and sell in a bear market, or get carried away and go all-in during a bull market. Set your take-profit and stop-loss points and stick to them. Don’t always chase the perfect exit point. The market has no perfect, only relatively rational.

Over these eight years, my biggest takeaway is: the crypto world is always a place to make money, but the prerequisite is that you must survive long enough.