I once met a friend who has been in the crypto circle for many years, turning an initial capital of 150,000 into hundreds of times that amount. During a casual chat, he said something that I’ve remembered to this day: "The crypto market loves to punish those clever people who come up with all kinds of tricks, but it can’t seem to control the 'fools' who stick to discipline." I applied his thinking to help a buddy who lost more than 400,000, and as a result, not only stopped the bleeding in half a year but also turned things around, earning enough to buy a car.

**Why do most people stumble in the crypto world? It’s actually the reverse of what you might think.**

They rush to close positions after earning a little profit, and once caught in a loss, they stubbornly hold on—this is a common problem among retail investors. I’ve fallen into this trap myself: Bitcoin rose by $900, I got greedy and took profits, only to see the market surge another $4,000, and out of regret, I jumped back in. This time, I lost $500 before finally cutting losses.

The real strategy is the opposite: let profits run, cut losses quickly. How to do it? Set a trailing stop-loss—whenever your account gains 10%, move the stop-loss up by 5%. When the market turns, it automatically locks in your profits, saving you from constantly staring at the screen and messing around.

**The second common pitfall: being blinded by the halo of explosive gains in new coins.**

Various altcoins are constantly showing stories of tenfold or hundredfold increases, enough to drive people crazy. But from a different perspective, mainstream coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, SOL—these old faces—have gone through countless bull and bear cycles. Their volatility exists, but their patterns are relatively clear.

Take Ethereum as an example: after falling from $1500 to $800 and staying sideways for a week, I started building a position when it stabilized at around $880. That’s much safer than blindly trying to bottom-fish. Once mainstream coins fully correct, the chances of a rebound are higher, making them more reassuring for retail investors.

**The third trick is the easiest to overlook: wait for a trend confirmation before adding to your position, and take out your initial capital once you reach a certain profit.**

Many people only think about bottom-fishing, but I do the opposite—if the trend isn’t clear, I hold tight and wait for signals to confirm before acting. For example, Ethereum rose from $880 to $950, then retraced to $900 (a support level on the monthly chart). Only then did I add 20% to my position. If I initially invested $10,000, when the account grows to $15,000, I first withdraw the original capital, and continue using the remaining profit to grow the position—this approach keeps my mindset very stable because I’m no longer risking my own money.

That friend who lost over 400,000 before turned things around with these three main tactics:

1. Hold onto mainstream coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum, avoid all kinds of meme coins and concept coins.

2. Set a trailing stop-loss to let profits run automatically, and firmly avoid adding to positions when in a loss.

3. When the account doubles, withdraw the original capital and use the profits to continue compounding.

The most ironic phenomenon in the crypto world is this—those who think they are smart chase the highs and sell the lows, frequently trading, and end up with their accounts wiped out; while those who seem "dumb" stick to discipline and never make reckless moves, and in the end, become the winners. If you’re already afraid of being wiped out, try this method—there’s no secret trick, just patience and rules. Few people stick to it, so few make money.