I look at the numbers in my account, and my thoughts drift back to the beginner trader I was five years ago—holding a few thousand dollars, trading with trepidation every time. Many people enter this market with dreams of overnight riches; and what’s the result? Most don’t survive the first year’s bull and bear cycles. What I want to say is: the more eager you are to get rich, the faster you tend to die.

I'm no different from anyone else—I'm not an institution, not a big player, just an ordinary trader. But over these five years, I’ve grown my small account to its current size through the simplest methods—risk control, discipline, and steady progress. Today’s sharing isn’t for those dreaming of 100x returns, but for those who want to survive long-term and make steady profits in this market.

**Initial Accumulation Stage: Small-Scale Testing (Thousand-Dollar Level)**

In the beginning, I only invested around $1,000. I split this money into 5 parts, with each position strictly controlled within $200. Sounds conservative? It is indeed conservative. But this conservatism kept me alive.

For each trade, I set stop-loss and take-profit levels, never chasing trades, never holding on stubbornly, and never betting against the market trend. Just like in warfare, you need to know when to advance and retreat; making money also requires knowing when to step back completely. The goal at this stage isn’t to make big money but to build a trading system and develop disciplined execution. Back then, I focused on well-tested cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which had relatively rational volatility, making it easier for beginners to find their rhythm.

**Steady Growth Stage: Incremental Position Additions (Ten-Thousand-Dollar Level)**

Once the account exceeded $10,000, I started to fine-tune my strategy. Each trade’s risk was controlled to about a quarter of the total position. Don’t think this proportion is too small—surviving in the trading market is the biggest gain in itself. As long as the account continues to grow, the power of compound interest will become evident year after year. If a trend emerges, I will opportunistically add to my positions in batches, but I will never go all-in. This is the methodology I used to grow from $1,000 to $10,000, and now to this current level.