That day when I pressed the Enter key, I knew that my living expenses for the month were gone again.

Six years ago, in that 800-yuan-a-month apartment I rented in Shenzhen, I spent all day staring at the Bitcoin chart on the screen. The candlestick pattern was dropping straight down like an electrocardiogram — the third liquidation. My savings were gone. The hot steam from instant noodles mixed with the hum of the computer fan, and in that moment I truly understood what despair was.

At that time, there were still people on the forum shouting "Add to your position, this is an opportunity," but the next day, the platform was inaccessible. The crypto world isn’t short of myths; what’s missing are those who survive. No one remembers the stories of those who fell along the way.

**The pitfalls I’ve stepped into over the years**

In nearly seven years, the crypto market has experienced 239 moments of extreme panic. Each panic was a harvest — a slaughter of retail investors. In 2018 alone, there were 93 instances where the panic index dropped below 20, and my first account was wiped out that year.

The Gate.io exchange was gone. The black swan event on 3.12.2015. Luna collapsed overnight, evaporating 40 billion dollars in value. Later, the FTX explosion happened again. Even giants like Three Arrows Capital went bankrupt. Each event was not just a numerical decline but a crushing blow to market confidence. Especially the Luna incident in 2022, which dragged the entire market into a deep bear market, and many people never recovered.

I gradually realized: surviving in this market requires not prediction skills but self-discipline. These six rules helped me survive three bull and bear cycles, not only recovering previous losses but also maintaining steady profits for years.

**Six Lifesaving Rules**

**1. Listen to the money, not the gurus**

In the early days, I loved following so-called "big V" accounts and "technical masters." When they said a coin was about to explode, I would go all-in. But what happened? Each one ended in a crash. Later, I realized those signals were just people gambling with your money.

Where do reliable insights come from? Data. On-chain data doesn’t lie — whether big players are building or selling, how funds flow in and out of exchanges, all can be observed. My current strategy is to follow the money flow, not listen to what someone says.

**2. Always leave yourself an exit**

The so-called "all-in" is a forbidden phrase for me. My rule is: no single trade should exceed 5% of my total funds. Sounds conservative? But that’s the difference between surviving and dying.

One mistake shouldn’t be fatal. Bear markets can last for years, and if you burn all your ammunition, you won’t be able to catch good opportunities later. I’ve seen too many people run out of money at the bottom.

**3. Combine technical and fundamental analysis**

Candlestick charts reveal some things, but you can’t rely on them alone. You need to understand what a project is doing, how the team is, and how vibrant the ecosystem is. During the 2018 downturn, some projects plummeted in price but kept developing — those projects survived and even rebounded.

Conversely, some projects that look good technically turn out to be air when you dig deeper. So, use technical analysis to time entries and exits, and fundamental analysis to determine the direction.

**4. Regular stop-loss, don’t expect miracles**

This is the hardest rule because everyone wants to wait for a rebound. But the market won’t rebound just because you expect it to. My current approach is to set stop-loss levels — once the price falls below a certain point, I cut losses and exit.

It sounds like losing money, but in reality, it’s protecting the principal. Small losses are much better than a big liquidation. Over these six years, stop-loss has saved me from several potential big crashes.

**5. Don’t leverage at high levels**

Leverage is like a drug. It feels great when you’re making money, but a reverse move can be deadly. My lesson is: only consider 1.5x leverage when the market is severely oversold. At high levels or uncertain times, I use my full capital.

Many people get wiped out because they leverage at high points. I’ve seen even large capital get wrecked multiple times by high-leverage liquidations at market tops.

**6. Regularly review your trades, but don’t overtrade**

Every month, I spend time reviewing my trading records — when I was right, when I was wrong. But the purpose isn’t to trade more often; it’s to reduce mistakes.

In fact, the more you trade, the more you pay in fees, and the more mistakes you make. Now, I might only trade three or five times a month, but each trade is well-planned.

**Surviving is harder than making money**

The crypto market is like a mix of a casino and a marketplace. There are thousands of ways to make money, but only a few ways to survive. Many people don’t die because their methods are wrong but because their mindset collapses or they lack self-discipline at critical moments.

Over these six years, I’ve watched people come and go, accounts blow up and then restart. In the end, it’s those who stick to discipline that survive. Money isn’t really the point; understanding the game rules is what matters.