In the crypto market, the number of traders who make it to the end alive is very small. Compared to those who promote "getting rich overnight," the truly effective approach appears more straightforward and crucial: the hierarchy of information determines the profit ceiling, while disciplined operations are the moat that allows one to traverse cycles.

There is a proven strategy worth sharing—its logic is simple, but execution is often more difficult than expected. The core idea is to use a three-stage progressive strategy, starting with protecting the principal, gradually moving toward stable returns, and finally pursuing excess profits.

**Stage One: Prioritize Survival, Forget the Obsession with Breaking Even**

The most common self-destructive operation in the market is to leverage aggressively after a liquidation event, trying to quickly recover losses. This psychological trap causes many to repeatedly fall into the same cycle. In reality, in the high-volatility field of crypto assets, simply surviving already means outperforming most people.

A feasible approach is to adopt layered fund management:

First, split the principal into three parts. 60% is allocated to the top twenty mainstream spot assets—such as BTC, ETH—assets that, while not offering overnight riches, have withstood multiple full cycle fluctuations, making the risk of zeroing out controllable; secondly, set aside 25% for low-risk arbitrage operations, such as capturing price differences across exchanges, aiming for steady incremental gains rather than explosive growth; finally, keep 15% as emergency reserves, strictly prohibiting use even in extreme market conditions.

At the same time, establish strict stop-loss rules: if a single loss reaches 2% of total funds, cut losses unconditionally; if cumulative losses reach 10%, stop trading entirely for review. This may sound conservative, but conservatism is the best strategy against high volatility. No one regrets being too cautious to survive.

**Stage Two: Stable Arbitrage, Let Information Gaps Become Income Sources**

The key to shifting from defense to offense is to stop trying to predict market rises and falls—an illusory task—and instead leverage structural inefficiencies in the market.

In simple terms, this involves exploiting price differences between platforms, misalignments in correlations among different tokens, and time lags in market information transmission. For example, if a certain token shows a significant price discrepancy between a major exchange and others, this arbitrage opportunity, though small, is repeatable and low-risk. Systematically capturing such opportunities can achieve a monthly return of 3-5%.

The crucial point is not to be greedy. Each arbitrage operation should have a clear and limited target; once executed, it’s time to stop, rather than trying to squeeze all profits from a single trade.

**Stage Three: Information Competitiveness, the Long-term Barrier to Making Money**

In the crypto market, the ability to acquire information is often more important than capital size. Gaining early insights into project developments, policy signals, on-chain data changes—these advantages can establish a relative barrier against retail investors.

This does not mean engaging in insider trading, but rather building a structured understanding of the market—keeping up with new trends in privacy coins, tracking on-chain activities of mainstream tokens, observing institutional fund flows. While most people are still guessing, well-informed traders have already laid out their plans.

Finally, and most importantly: discipline always beats luck. The market is never short of opportunities; what’s lacking is patience—people who can survive long enough to see those opportunities. Most traders who achieve consistent profits are not geniuses—they are simply repeating the same disciplined routines.