In the past two years, I have made 2 million yuan in the crypto world, but revealing this might disappoint people—there are no miraculous operations, nor did I bet on any super hot trend. It all comes down to a set of simple rules. How simple? So simple that it might be a bit boring. But it’s this boredom that kept me alive and helped me make money.

Many newcomers to the crypto space first think about predicting the market. Watching candlesticks, studying technical analysis, following the herd to chase rallies... And what’s the result? Most of the time, it’s frequent trading, frequent mistakes, and ultimately becoming an "active user" of the exchange. Now I understand that making money through predictions is just gambling on luck, and I no longer want to gamble.

**Coins that defend the market often break out**

When the market crashes sharply, some coins only experience minor corrections. What does this indicate? It shows that there is capital inside and someone is defending the market. Many people panic when they see the market drop and want to cut losses quickly. But my experience is that these resilient coins often have the potential for significant upward movement later. The key is patience—don’t be scared by short-term fluctuations.

**Moving averages are more reliable than emotions**

Beginners are most easily driven by emotions. Seeing positive news, they rush in; seeing some negative comments, they panic and run away. I’ve given up guessing emotions and shifted to analyzing data. Short-term trading is simple: if the price stays above the 5-day moving average, hold; if it falls below, exit immediately. For mid-term, look at the 20-day moving average, with the same logic. It’s straightforward—no fancy tricks, just mechanical execution. Many know this method but can’t stick to it for more than two weeks and start trading based on feelings again.

**Volume and price coordination during major upward waves**

Sometimes a coin is rising, with a decent increase, but without volume. Many people worry about this, feeling uneasy without volume. My approach is to follow the trend directly. Why? Because major upward waves often move this way. If volume increases during the rise, it indicates continuation. If volume shrinks during a pullback but the trend remains, continue holding. But once you see volume decreasing along with a fall that breaks the trend support, you must reduce your position immediately—don’t hesitate.

**Three-day patience bottom line**

Short-term trading relies heavily on rhythm. If you buy a coin and it shows no significant movement after three days, it’s time to exit. Some say this is too impatient, but I think: if you bought wrong, you bought wrong. Holding on blindly only deepens losses. I set a red line for myself—stop loss at 5% loss, unconditionally. No exceptions. Many times, this 5% stop loss saved me from later 20% or 30% losses.

**Opportunities and risks of oversold conditions**

When a coin is halved from a high and then falls for eight consecutive days, it’s usually in an oversold zone. A rebound can happen at any time. I will position some orders at this point but never heavy. Because a rebound is just a rebound, not a trend reversal. Many people get caught here, thinking the bottom has arrived, only to get caught in a sharp decline afterward.

**Leaders have their own playbook**

Most of my profits later came from leading coins. Leaders tend to rise fiercely and resist falls, and the market assigns them a different premium. But this also reverses many people’s perceptions—they think that after a big drop, they should buy, and after a high rise, they shouldn’t touch it. My logic is the opposite: buy the leader at high levels and sell at even higher levels because it has that capacity. Ordinary coins can’t do this because they lack strong support.

**Follow the trend, don’t try to bottom-tick**

Price isn’t always better the lower it goes. I’ve seen too many people waste time trying to "bottom-fish." The key isn’t the price itself but whether the price is friendly to the trend. If a coin is weak, no matter how cheap, I’ll give up. Weak is weak—there’s no bottom, only the next lower level.

**Making money once vs. continuous profit**

This is what I want to emphasize most. Making money once by luck is easy. But whether you can keep making money—that’s the real dividing line. I spent a lot of time reviewing my trades to distinguish whether I was relying on skill or luck. Later, I built my own trading system, which, although sometimes fails, generally provides clues to follow.

**Stay out if uncertain**

Many people don’t understand staying out of the market. They think not trading every day means no profit. But I see staying out as a form of operation too. First, think about how not to lose money; then, think about how to make money. Trading is never about speed but about win rate. Doing only 20 trades a year, each profitable, is simpler than doing 200 trades and only winning 50 of them.

**Final words**

In the crypto space, surviving is more important than making quick profits. I remind myself of this repeatedly. It’s hard to build a boat with a single tree, and closing oneself off only leads to paying tuition repeatedly. Welcome friends with similar goals to exchange ideas and seize real opportunities.