Survive to Wait for the Wave: How I Navigate Through Multiple Cycles of Ups and Downs in the Crypto Market

Someone once asked me: “How do you survive long-term in crypto?”
I don’t answer with trading strategies. I answer with a simple sentence: If you are still in the market, you still have a chance.
This market is not short of opportunities. It only eliminates those lacking discipline.
I have witnessed many people enter the market with extreme enthusiasm, then leave silently. Some are very smart, read charts quickly, catch waves well. But in the end, they still lose. Not because they lack skills. They lose because they cannot control themselves.
Emotional Control Is the Biggest Competitive Advantage
In crypto, you are not just trading with the market. You are trading with fear, greed, and your ego.
When the market surges, FOMO makes you jump in at the top. When prices correct deeply, fear makes you sell at the bottom. When you win several trades in a row, you think you are invincible. When you lose, you try to recover by increasing your volume.
I have fallen into that cycle. There was a phase where my account grew very quickly, feeling like I “understood the market.” Then just one overly confident decision, entering a larger position than planned, and almost all previous gains disappeared.
The market doesn’t care how many times you’ve won. Just one wrong move with a too-large position is enough.
After that, I realized one thing: Psychological stability is more important than any technical indicator.
Capital Management Is the Key to Survival
Many people enter crypto with a “go all-in” mentality. But that’s not investing; that’s gambling.
The principles I always follow:
Never take a position so large that a loss would prevent you from continuing.
Don’t use living expenses money.
Don’t borrow to invest.
Always keep some reserve capital.
Holding cash is not weakness. It’s strength.
When the market panics, those with cash have the power to choose. Those who went all-in can only pray.
The best opportunities often appear during the worst times. But you can only seize them if you still have “ammunition.”
Waiting Is the Biggest Part of Trading
Many think that to make money in crypto, you have to trade every day. The reality is quite the opposite.
Most of the time, the market moves sideways, fluctuates, and tests your psychology. This is the phase that wears down your account due to fees, small trades, and the psychological urge to “do something.”
But doing nothing is also a decision.
I have learned to:
Not chase rapid price increases.
Not buy the dip just because it’s deep.
Not trade when the trend is unclear.
When a real opportunity appears, it’s clear enough that you won’t have to doubt. You don’t need to make 50 trades to make money. Just a few quality opportunities per year can make a difference.
Don’t Let Social Media Lead Your Decisions
Social media creates the illusion that everyone is making money.
You see others showing profits.
You don’t see the accounts that have burned out.
You don’t know how much capital they used.
You don’t know how much risk they can tolerate.
Comparing yourself to others is the shortest path to bad decisions.
The market doesn’t reward the noisy. It rewards those who survive.
Focus on improving your knowledge, trading system, and discipline. If you improve every day, you are on the right track.
My Personal Survival System
Through many cycles of ups and downs, I have derived these principles:

1. Only invest in what you understand.
   If you can’t explain how the project works, you shouldn’t put money into it.
2. Always have a plan before entering a trade.
   Know your entry point, take-profit point, and stop-loss point. If you haven’t determined these, don’t trade.
3. Be disciplined with stop-losses.
   Accept small losses when wrong. Don’t let small mistakes turn into big ones.
4. Allow winning trades room to grow.
   Many cut profits too early but hold losing trades too long. Do the opposite.
5. Take profits periodically.
   Unrealized gains are just numbers on the screen. The market owes you nothing.
6. Be patient but not procrastinate.
   Wait patiently for opportunities. But when a clear opportunity appears, act decisively.
   Crypto Is a Long-Term Game
   Crypto is not a speed race. It’s a game of endurance.
   The winner is not necessarily the one who makes the most in a month.
   They are the ones still here after many years.
   The market always has cycles. Rises and falls. Opportunities come and go. If you survive long enough, you will encounter favorable phases again.
   When others are eliminated due to impatience, discipline becomes your advantage. When others exhaust themselves with constant trading, patience will help you conserve energy for the crucial moments.
   Ultimately, the secret is not about predicting every move correctly. The secret is not letting a single mistake knock you out of the game.
   Control your hands.
   Keep your mind steady.
   As long as you stay in the market, you still have a chance.
   In crypto, survival is not a secondary goal. It is the strategy.