Ultimate Guide to Encryption Trading in 2025: 5 Strategies to Avoid Pitfalls

Trading in the crypto world is like driving a car—without a map and rules, newbies can crash, and even experienced drivers can easily flip over. This article breaks down 5 mainstream trading strategies to help you understand which one suits you.

Core Point: There is no “best” strategy, only a strategy that is “most suitable for you”.

The essence of trading strategy is to use rules to overcome emotions. Why have a strategy? Three points:

• Remove psychological biases (getting scared when seeing a drop, feeling FOMO when seeing a rise)
• Adapt to different market phases (bull market and bear market strategies are completely different)
• Systematic review (knowing where you are making money and where you are losing money)

Newbie Must Read: A 4-Step Roadmap to Start from Scratch

Step 1: Learn the Basics Master these concepts: blockchain, technical analysis (candlestick, support/resistance levels), risk management (stop loss/take profit). Don't rush to get started, spend at least a week on theory.

Step 2: Choose a Reliable Platform Start with spot trading using BTC and ETH, avoid leverage and futures. Safety first.

Step 3: Small Amount Trial and Error Use money that you can afford to lose for practice. The goal is to get a feel for it, not to make big money.

Step 4: Establish a trading log Record the entry and exit points, reasons, and results of each transaction. Data will tell you what to improve after three months.

In-Depth Comparison of Five Major Trading Strategies

Intraday Trading (Intraday)

Gameplay: Buy in the morning, sell in the evening, complete within a day, no overnight risk. Time: from minutes to hours Target Audience: Full-time traders who can monitor the market. Risk Level: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Most exhausting, most psychological challenge)

You need to constantly monitor the charts, react quickly, and endure noise. Use 5-minute/15-minute/1-hour candlesticks, combined with moving averages and RSI indicators to find highs and lows. Make dozens of small trades a month, making money through volume.

2025 New Trends: AI trading robots have become mainstream, automatically identifying signals, while humans need supervision and risk management.

2️⃣ Swing Trading

Gameplay: Capturing price fluctuations over a few days to a few weeks is the “golden rule” between intraday and long-term trading. Time: 3 days to 3 weeks Target Audience: Office workers, part-time traders Risk Level: ⭐⭐⭐ (Controllable)

Look at the 4-hour or daily chart to find trends, support levels, and breakout points. For example, if BTC is oscillating in the range of 20000-22000, you buy near 20000 and sell near 22000. You might perform such operations 2-3 times within a week.

Key Elements:

• Analyze once the day before, set stop-loss and take-profit.
• Don't be afraid of overnight gaps, but set up a good defense.
• The information aspect is very important (regulation, macro policy)

3️⃣ Scalping

Play method: Flash sale operation, earning a little bit on each transaction, relying on volume to accumulate profits. Time: A few seconds to a few minutes Suitable for: Professional trading teams, those with advanced tools Risk Level: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Extreme Pressure)

1-minute candlestick, order book, and order flow analysis. Dozens to hundreds of transactions per day. Must use automated trading bots, otherwise manual trading can't keep up at all.

Pitfall: The fees can eat up most of the profits, and one mistake could wipe out 10 successes. Not recommended for Newbies.

4️⃣ Long-term holding (Hodling)

Strategy: Buy and hold for months to years, believing in the long-term growth of the project. Time: 6 months to 3 years Target Audience: Busy office workers, dedicated investors Risk Level: ⭐⭐ (Psychological Test)

It is essentially an investment, not a trade. Choose top coins like BTC and ETH, or promising project coins. Invest a fixed amount regularly (DCA), ignore fluctuations, and wait for the story 5 years from now.

Yield Reference: Historical data shows that those who held BTC for more than 4 years almost always made a profit (even after experiencing bear markets in between).

5️⃣ Arbitrage Trading

Gameplay: The same coin has different prices on different exchanges; you buy at the cheaper one and sell at the more expensive one. Time: Seconds level Target Audience: Those with a technical background who can write bots. Risk Level: ⭐ (Theoretically low risk)

For example, BTC is priced at $29,000 on exchange A and $29,200 on exchange B. You buy from A and sell to B to make a profit of $200. However, you need an API, bots, and multiple accounts, and the fees and transfer time may eat into your profits.

Current Situation: The market has become efficient, with a large number of bots competing, making it difficult for individuals to make money. It is more of an institutional game.

Which Strategy to Choose at Different Market Stages?

Three Golden Rules of Risk Management (Must Understand Regardless of Strategy)

1. Stop-loss is a must, not an option

• Decide how much to cut before each trade.
• Newbie is advised not to exceed 1-2% of the account in a single transaction.
• “Just wait a little longer to break even” is the epitaph of retail investors.

2. Profit-taking must be clear

• Greed is another pit.
• Set your goals and exit, don't think “what if it goes up again”.
• Take profits in batches, rather than all-in all-out.

3. Do not use leverage when not leveraging

• Newbies are prohibited from using 5x and 10x leverage.
• 5x leverage means that a 20% loss will lead to liquidation.
• A 50% fluctuation in the crypto world in a day is not news.

How to choose a strategy that suits you?

Time Dimension:

• 8 hours of free time every day → intraday or swing
• Can only watch a few times on weekends → Hold coins for the short term or long term
• Almost no time → Long-term holding (DCA)

Psychological Quality：

• Able to remain steady despite a 50% drop → Hold coins for the long term
• Cannot stand short-term fluctuations → Swing trading
• Like excitement and quick feedback → Intraday/Scalping

Capital Amount:

• Under $1000 → Hold coins long-term or swing (no leverage)
• 10000 USD → both intraday and swing trades are possible
• $100,000+ → Arbitrage, futures hedging and other complex strategies

Core Recommendations

✅ **There is no “best” strategy, only the “most suitable” one for now. ✅ **First learn to protect your capital, then talk about making big money. ✅ **The trading log is your best teacher—review it carefully. ✅ **In 2025, use AI tools as assistance, but don't let machines replace thinking. ✅ Most people fail not because of poor strategy, but because of poor execution

In the story of the crypto world, the people who make big money are often not the ones with the most complicated strategies, but rather those who are the most disciplined and calm. Choose a strategy that suits you, and then stick to it.