# How to Actually Make Money in Crypto: Lessons from a Survivor

Many beginners enter crypto with one obsession: thinking that making money comes down to guts, speed, and insider info. Whoever rushes in first gets the gains. But if you actually look at the people who've stuck around and consistently made money—they're doing the exact opposite.

I went through this myself. All-nighters watching charts, chasing pumps and panic selling, refusing to take losses, blowing accounts, anxiety, sleepless nights—I've been there. Then I finally figured something out: if you treat this like gambling, the market will eventually wipe you out. You only stay in the game if you treat it like a job.

After that, everything changed. No more impulsive trades based on feeling. Instead: fixed times, pre-planned strategy, disciplined execution. The money doesn't come in as thrilling anymore, and you lose that rush of going all-in. But the account finally stabilized. That was the real turning point.

I basically don't trade during the day now. Daytime is when news hits hardest, emotions run wild, prices whipsaw everywhere—that's when you get shaken out. I wait until after 9 PM. By then news has fully priced in, the chart is cleaner, and direction is clearer.

The second I make money, my first instinct is locking it in. Make $1,000? Take $300 off the table, let the rest keep working. I've seen too many people turn 3x gains into wanting 5x, then one pullback wipes out all the profit and their starting capital too. I know how deep that regret goes.

Before every entry, I check indicators—never gut feeling. MACD, RSI, Bollinger Bands—I need at least two signals pointing the same direction before I even consider it. Stop-loss is non-negotiable. When I can watch, I trail it higher. When I'm busy, I set a hard stop. Not even a small wick gets through.

One more critical thing: the numbers in your account aren't real money. Only what you withdraw is. Every winning cycle, I take profits systematically instead of fantasizing about 10x all day.

Crypto never lacks opportunities. What's rare is players who survive. Getting 2x once is easy—surviving the bull/bear cycles is hard. The real secret to making money is this simple: position sizing is your foundation, stop-loss is your shield, withdrawal is your respect for the market. Go slower, follow the rules, and the money stays.