There are always stories on the square about "Persisting for X years to earn a million" or "Turning small funds into eight figures," with a few coin names added to catch attention. Some friends ask me, are these stories true? Is there really such an easy way to make money in the crypto world?

Honestly—there is no "surefire secret" in the crypto space. Taking individual survivor cases as general rules and packaging the results into a replicable path is the most common illusion in the crypto world. Many people fall into this trap and end up losing all their hard-earned money.

So, how can small funds survive longer in the crypto space? My advice is as follows.

**Step 1: Adjust Your Mindset First**

If your principal is only around 1000U, don’t expect to double it in the short term. Treat this money as tuition fees—your goal is to experience the pitfalls of liquidation, slippage, and emotional outbursts, and still retain 50% of your principal in the end.

Use a very small position size of 1%-2% to go through a full bull and bear market cycle. Keep a trading journal daily, screenshot candlestick charts, and write down your emotional changes—these real experiences are more valuable than any "secret." Many people miss this process and jump straight into leverage, only to be completely out after a single slippage.

**Step 2: Manage Cash Flow First**

Put 80% of your principal into a flexible deposit on an exchange or on-chain USDC (annualized yield usually around 4%-5%), and then strictly limit yourself to only use the profits for trading.

What are the benefits? Even if your strategy is poor, your principal can still earn a positive return of 4% annually. At least you won’t fall into the vicious cycle of "playing and getting poorer." Many overlook this point, and as a result, their principal is gradually depleted.

**Step 3: Win Rate Must Reach 55% Before Using Real Money**

Manually backtest at least 100 trades, record profit/loss points, slippage, and your emotional score at the time (1-5).

Only when your win rate exceeds 55% for two consecutive months and the maximum drawdown does not exceed 15% do you qualify to use real funds. If your backtest win rate is below 40%, discard that strategy altogether—this can save you a lot of real money.

Many find this testing process troublesome and jump in directly, often leading to quick exit.

**Bottom-line Thinking**

When your capital is still small, "staying alive + learning real skills" is more important than any story of quick riches. Don’t be fooled by market myths—they are often survivor bias.

The rules of the crypto game are actually very harsh: most people don’t make money not because their strategies aren’t magical enough, but because they lack patience to build a stable trading system, don’t strictly follow risk management, and are overwhelmed by emotions and illusions.

Starting from zero, surviving longer and learning something is far more meaningful than fleeting wealth.