From Loss to Profit: My Survival Guide in the Cruel Crypto Game

I watched my account bleed for two whole years, my finger hovering over the delete button countless times. Every damn purchase tanked. Every sale? The market mockingly shot upward. All those "guaranteed double-ups" everyone bragged about? Pure bullshit for me.

Then year three hit and it clicked: making money in crypto isn't about catching moonshots – it's about avoiding the endless traps laid for suckers like us.

No fancy theories today. Just the raw 3-step method that took me from hemorrhaging cash to consistent profits, plus 8 rules I paid for with real money. Hate it after reading? Tell me I'm full of shit. But first, let's face facts: 90% of crypto traders are just walking ATMs for someone else.

"Can you get rich trading crypto?" Yeah, technically. But your odds are worse than hitting the lottery. Traditional markets already crush 70% of participants, but crypto? It's a goddamn slaughterhouse where 90% get butchered. Why? Because every idiot (myself included) thinks they're special.

I've witnessed families destroyed by this shit – mortgaged houses thrown into shitcoins, high-interest loans for leverage gambling, all spiraling from "get rich quick" to "just need to break even" to "everything's gone." Remember this: you can't make money if you're constantly getting gutted.

The 5 Deadliest Traps I Stupidly Fell Into

"Founder Exit Scams"

Luna crashed from $100 to dust. FIL plummeted from $200 to pocket change. During pumps, project teams paint utopian visions, then silently dump their bags once you're hooked. Reality check: 90% of new tokens exist solely to fleece you. Don't swallow the bullshit narratives – legitimate projects don't promise overnight riches.

"Sketchy Exchanges"

While you obsess over promised yields, they're eyeing your principal. Any exchange outside the top players can vanish overnight. Remember FTX? Global top-three until it wasn't. My rule: only trade on the absolute biggest platforms, and never keep significant funds there – transfer to your personal wallet regardless of fees.

"Leverage Gambling"

I've watched idiots celebrate nine successful 10x leveraged trades, then lose everything on the tenth. Yes, trade contracts if you must, but leverage should never exceed 2x, with iron-clad 5% stop-losses. These days, I only risk 10% of my capital on contracts, at 1x leverage. Losing still stings, but it won't ruin me.

"Shitcoin Scams"

Those profit screenshots flooding your groups? Pure theater. They'll let you taste small gains first, lure you into bigger positions, then dump and leave you holding worthless trash. My approach? Never touch obscure altcoins not listed on major exchanges. Even if one moons, I don't give a damn.

"Wallet 'Hacks'"

Smaller wallets and platforms have a funny habit of "getting hacked" right after you deposit. Strange coincidence, right? Stick to well-established, open-source wallets, keep minimal operating funds on exchanges, and secure the bulk of your assets in self-custody.

The 3 Steps to Actually Making Money

After years of pain, these three stupidly simple steps turned my portfolio around:

1. Filter Ruthlessly: Only trade coins you genuinely understand. Split the universe into "comprehensible" (Bitcoin, Ethereum, or projects you've researched for months) and "incomprehensible" garbage. I now hold fewer than 5 coins, all mainstream with actual use cases. They don't pump as dramatically, but they also don't crash as hard.

2. Wait for Clear Signals: Forget complex indicators. The RSI is plenty:

   • RSI below 30 with stable support? Buy.
   • RSI above 70 with broken trendlines? Sell.

   Example: BTC at $30,000 this year showed RSI at 28. I bought. When it hit $40,000 with RSI at 75, I sold for a clean 30% profit. Simple enough that anyone can learn it in a week.

3. Position Control: Never let one bad trade obliterate you. Keep single-coin positions under 30% and always maintain 20% cash reserves. With $100,000, I'll put maximum $30,000 in one coin – if it drops 50%, I lose $15,000 but still have breathing room.

My 8 Iron-Clad Rules

These rules cost me blood and tears:

1. Never trade with rent/food money – emotional desperation guarantees bad decisions
2. Avoid fresh coins for their first 3 months – let whales finish dumping first
3. Keep leverage under 2x, always set stop-losses
4. "Insider tips" in groups are traps, period
5. Lock in 50% profits when a coin jumps 50%
6. If you don't understand a market move, stay the hell out
7. Limit yourself to 2-3 trades weekly – overtrading breeds mistakes
8. Remember: merely surviving in crypto already puts you ahead of 90%

You're not here to get rich overnight – you're here to earn slowly and steadily. After five years in this hellscape, my biggest realization is that success isn't about catching moonshots – it's about avoiding the countless ways this market tries to wreck you. Dodge the traps, read the signals, control your positions. These simple steps can help you join the 10% who actually survive.