The crypto world is always talking about "cycles are king," but few truly understand this principle. The best teaching material is actually right around us—the past 20 years of Japan-China economic "super confrontation" is more direct than any technical analysis.

In 2000, Japan was the world's second-largest economy, with a GDP approaching $5 trillion. At the same time, China's GDP was less than $1.2 trillion, more than four times smaller. But by 2023, the situation had completely reversed. China's GDP skyrocketed to $17.7 trillion, while Japan's was only $4.23 trillion—overtaking by 4.2 times. The dramatic fluctuations during this process are honestly more exciting than Bitcoin dropping from $170,000 to $30,000 and then rising back to $60,000.

Looking deeper into this process, three core rules of crypto investment can be identified.

The first is "cycle turning points are always hidden in underestimated growth." In 2000, Japan held a dominant position in the global economy, similar to Bitcoin's status in digital assets back then. And China? Just an industrialization follower, like the current potential but still unknown public chains. It is precisely this "market neglect" that creates the greatest reversal opportunities. In the end, China achieved a reversal in economic size, and the story of small coins in the crypto circle counterattacking mainstream coins follows the same script.

This taught me a very important principle in trading—don't chase highs, focus on assets that are seriously undervalued. Many people always want to chase the trend, but the real gains are often found where others look down on.