Is your principal still below $1000? Especially for beginners who have just entered the crypto world, the most urgent task at this stage is not to rack your brains for quick money, but to make sure you don't play yourself out.

I've seen too many small accounts get wrecked in the market. It's not because they lost to market trends, but because of poor decision-making. I once mentored a new trader who started with only $800, and later his account grew to $80,000. This wasn't luck. His success was based on these three fundamental rules—principles I have stuck to from starting with small funds all the way to now, and I have never wavered from them.

**Rule 1: Split your funds, or risk control becomes impossible**

The most dangerous approach for small accounts is all-in betting. One wrong judgment, and the account is wiped out. The truly smart strategy is to divide your principal into three parts: one dedicated to short-term small fluctuations, only participating in high-confidence opportunities and exiting once enough profit is made; another for swing trading, only acting during major trends or clear structural setups, with a longer time horizon; and the last as a final line of defense, never touching it, used to withstand extreme market conditions and psychological breakdowns.

This division isn't about making more money, but about ensuring that no matter how many mistakes you make, you still have chips to bounce back. Surviving in the market is always more important than being aggressive.

**Rule 2: Don't get entangled in sideways movements, only act in trends**

Most of the time, the market isn't worth messing with. Frequent trading, frankly, is just paying fees to satisfy emotional impulses. Truly disciplined traders wait calmly during stagnant periods, and once the trend becomes clear and the structure stabilizes, they make decisive moves. What's the benefit of this approach? Fewer mistakes, and each trade is made at the right time, doing the right thing.

In contrast, those who trade daily just to avoid missing small profits often end up losing everything to transaction fees.