In the past ten years in the crypto world, I have witnessed countless people wipe out their holdings overnight, and I was once one of them. Ten years ago, that arrogant rookie was painfully educated by the market.

Looking back now, what has allowed me to survive in this brutal game, and even start to make steady profits, is not some clever secret, but three simple rules learned through repeated huge losses.

**Rule 1: Set a stop-loss when opening a position and completely break up with luck**

Holding a position without a stop-loss is the fastest way to deplete your capital. I realized early on that: stop-loss is not failure, but a necessary trading fee—like wearing a seatbelt, not waiting for a car accident, but protecting your life if something happens.

How to implement? There is only one way: execute without discounts. You must place a stop-loss order within 60 seconds of buying, and never rely on psychological stop-loss stories. Second, fix the numbers: limit single-loss to no more than 1%-2% of total capital; with 100,000 yuan, losing at most 1,000-2,000 yuan, no more. Never hold on to a position that is losing more than that. Lastly, position precisely: set the stop-loss near genuine support or resistance levels, avoiding normal market noise, and don’t get scared out by a few small bearish candles.

**Rule 2: Manage positions with the pyramid principle, always fear the market**

Position size determines mindset, and mindset determines decisions. Simply put: never go all-in with all your chips at once; full position trading is equivalent to actively giving up the chance to survive.

My approach is layered position building. First, invest only 50% of the total funds to explore; once the price reaches key levels and the trend stabilizes, add another 30%; only when the direction is fully clear, use the remaining 20% to seek excess returns. The key is to always keep more than 10% cash on hand for extreme market shocks.

**Rule 3: Keep your strategy pure, don’t mix investing and speculation**

Many people lose because of this: turning long-term into short-term, and short-term into long-term, creating chaos in their minds, and naturally distorting their operations. Before clicking buy, think clearly: is this trade for investment or speculation?

My division is simple. Long-term positions use investment mindset, mainly with core assets like BTC and ETH, dollar-cost averaging, ignoring short-term fluctuations, holding for one or two years. Short-term positions operate independently, strictly following trading discipline: sell when necessary, don’t hold on to losing positions. The two systems do not interfere with each other, so the account remains organized.

Ten years to today, every penny earned is the interest from these three rules.