Sometimes, learning to say no is more valuable than learning to hold on.

I’ve never actively recruited people into this circle. Today, what I want to say is less of a suggestion and more of a rambling after years of ups and downs. Starting with 1200 yuan, at the most chaotic point, my account reached over 800,000, executing hundreds of trades during that period. To truly understand the market’s temperament, it’s almost impossible without going through 2-3 complete bull and bear cycles.

Those who saw through it early on indeed avoided many pitfalls. Whether the crypto market can truly break through depends on a very cliché but true statement: it’s not about how much you desire “speed,” but how deep your understanding of “stability” is.

**The days of chasing quick money**

When I first entered the market, I was the same—dreaming all day about finding a hundredfold coin. Staring at various hot topics on the screen, afraid to miss the next wave of explosive growth. Back then, it was just one word—greed. Frequent trading ≠ account growth. It took me years of lessons to understand this.

The most timid thing was, to avoid missing out, I’d rather be caught in a trap first, then wait stubbornly for a rebound. This isn’t a trading strategy; it’s a flaw of human nature. The market repeatedly taught me with losses: occasional big wins don’t mean skill, locking in profits and tightly controlling drawdowns are the real thresholds for evolving from a retail trader to a trader.

**After being hit hard by the market once**

There was a trade where I had a substantial unrealized profit, but due to greed, I held on without taking profit. Watching helplessly as the profits I had on hand were wiped out in a single turn, and I even ended up losing money. Halving the account, needing to double to break even—that’s basic math.

After that experience, my goal changed completely: from “how much can I make on this trade” to “absolutely no large drawdowns.” This shift in mindset has saved me more than once.