In December 2018, I remember those days very clearly. In a rented room in Shenzhen's urban village, the air conditioner was humming, and I was staring at the K-line without blinking—Bitcoin skyrocketing from $18,000 to $18,500, $19,000… account balance jumping from 300,000 to nearly 3 million.

How did that feeling go? It was like winning the lottery but afraid it would fly away, so excited that my hands trembled, yet reluctant to sell. My mind was all about "Wait a little longer, maybe it can reach 25,000." But three days later, the market was like someone pulled the plug—directly crashing. Positions wiped out, profits all gone, and by Christmas, the account was down to less than 600,000.

At that moment, I was lying on the bed, staring at the cracks on the ceiling, and suddenly understood one thing: it wasn't the market that knocked me out, but that phrase in my head—"Wait a little longer, I’ll break even."

Over these eight years, the money I lost would have been enough to buy three houses, but it also taught me a few truly useful lessons.

**About Leverage**

In 2020, I once traded Ethereum with 20x leverage, making 400,000 in a day. I felt like I was chosen by the heavens, couldn't sleep all night, with "financial freedom" echoing in my mind. Then came May 19, 2021—two hours, and 600,000 vanished, my account liquidated completely.

After that, I set a rule for myself: maximum 3x leverage, and no single contract position exceeding 5% of total funds. It’s not cowardice, it’s about wanting to stay alive longer. Leverage doesn’t amplify your judgment—it amplifies your greed.

**About Those "Revolutionary" Projects**

I once heavily invested in a coin claimed to be the "Ethereum of China", pouring 250,000 in, which soared up to 1.5 million at the peak. The project team was constantly hyping in Telegram groups, saying they wanted to change the world, rebuild consensus. I believed them, and I didn’t sell a single coin.

Now that coin is worth $0.0008, and my 1.5 million has turned into negligible change.

Later, I changed my strategy: 85% of my money honestly put into BTC and ETH, and the remaining 15% used for altcoins as entertainment funds. Dreams are fine, but don’t put your entire life savings into them. You won’t find family heirlooms in a casino.

**About Stop Loss**

Now I set an 8% hard stop-loss on every trade—when it hits, I exit without question or explanation. This rule has saved me too many times.

Many in crypto shout "value investing," but it’s really just a cover-up for not wanting to cut losses when caught. True value investing is based on rational judgment, not self-comfort after getting trapped.

Sometimes I wonder: if my account goes to zero tomorrow, can I still live peacefully? If the answer is "no," then I’ve been playing too big and need to stop.

Eight years have passed, and I’m still in this market—not because I’m smarter than others, but because I’ve learned to admit defeat. Surviving is more important than anything else.