15 Minutes Burned 4,000U: 6 Years of Ups and Downs in Crypto, I Summed Up 3 “Survival Rules” to Save People

I used to think that just one bold move could change my life. But in just 15 minutes, I lost 4,000U—going from hope to panic.

That day was the third month since I started trading contracts. Holding 8,000U in my hand, my mind had only one naive thought: “If I use 100x leverage, I’ll make money 100 times faster.”

Looking back now, I was no different from someone who just learned to drive wanting to race in F1.

The market only needed to swing 0.8%—and the entire 4,000U vanished in an instant.

The screen showing my position was liquidated left me numb. That was when I realized:

Blowing up an account isn’t due to bad luck. It’s because I treated the market like a casino, while I didn’t even understand the rules yet.

I locked up the remaining money, took a six-month break from trading, read three classic books, and dissected over 200 of my own mistakes. From then on, I understood:

Contract trading is like holding a sharp knife in your hand. If you don’t know how to use it, you’ll cut yourself. If you know how to control it, it can carve out profits.

In the past six years, I’ve witnessed countless stories in the market: Some people win a few trades and think they’re unbeatable, go all-in and blow up their whole account. Some lose and cling to the chart until 3 AM, finally cutting at the very bottom out of panic. And there are those who trade very little, wait for the right moment before acting—they survive the longest.

Last year, I applied a trend-following strategy—using Bollinger Bands to watch for narrowing, waiting for breakouts with volume, then splitting my entry into three, setting stop-loss at the bottom of the accumulation zone.

The result? One trend multiplied my account by 28 times. Not luck, but discipline.

And if today I had to choose three survival principles that any beginner must remember—they would be these three things.

1. Never Let a Single Trade Lose More Than 2% of Your Account This is the most important rule in any trading style. If your account has 3,000U → each trade can only risk 60U. A single mistake should not cost you 20–30% of your account. But most beginners think: “This time is definitely right!” Then they go too big, and just a small swing wipes them out.

The market doesn’t care how confident you are. It only cares if you know how to protect yourself.

2. Never Trade More Than 2 Trades Per Day—Trade Less, Make More Most losers aren’t wrong in their analysis. They lose because they’re addicted to pressing buttons. Lose 1 trade → want to recover Win 1 trade → want more wins Emotions control your hands, your hands control your downfall

Currently, I limit myself to a maximum of 2 trades per day. Many days I don’t trade at all, because: Market looks good → enter Market doesn’t look good → stay out

Trading less keeps your mind clear, avoids noise, and lets you see the trend more clearly.

Beginners think “trading less means missing opportunities.”

But the truth is: Less trading = fewer mistakes = account survives longer.

3. When Profit Reaches 50%, Move Stop-Loss to Breakeven Immediately This is the secret to my long-term survival. Profits not yet withdrawn to your wallet are not your money. When you’re up 50%, what you need to do is: ✔ Move your stop-loss to your entry price ✔ Or set a trailing stop close to the price

At this point, even if the market reverses: You don’t lose Your profit is locked in Your mindset stays stable No fear of reversals

Beginners often lose because of greed. Good traders survive because they know how to protect what they have.

In Conclusion: Want to Make Money in Crypto—Learn How Not to Lose Money Crypto has no shortage of opportunities, no shortage of volatility, and no shortage of heart-stopping wicks. But it sorely lacks disciplined people.

If right now you still: Buy out of fear Sell with regret Trade based on emotions

Stop.

In this market, if your first goal is to make money, you will lose money. If your first goal is to keep your money, then you have a chance to make money.

And the last one standing is always the most disciplined.