After many years of trading, I've seen too many people go from making quick money to losing everything. Stories of turning a few thousand into a million are common, but often with a single correction, accounts are wiped out. Opportunities in the market are never lacking; the problem is that most people earn quickly but lose even faster.

The reason I can persist until now is not relying on advanced indicators or insider information, but sticking to three principles—"Let go when necessary, know when to run, and know when to take profits." It sounds a bit counterintuitive, but this is the price of survival.

**Capture the first profit to recover the principal**

The rule is simple: once you make your first profit, immediately withdraw the initial capital. For example, if you start with 10,000 and your position grows to 15,000, withdraw that 10,000 right away, leaving 5,000 to continue trading. This isn't conservatism; it's about preventing overconfidence. The biggest fear in crypto is the mentality of "just wait a little longer"—with the principal in the account, it's easy to get impulsive, leverage up, and hold onto losing positions. When the principal is outside, your mindset stays strong.

Many liquidation stories follow this pattern: reluctant to sell after profits, stubbornly holding after losses. Last year, someone turned 500,000 into 3 million, but when the market dropped, they insisted on adding leverage to buy the dip, and in one day, everything was gone.

**The more unrealized gains, the more you should "play it safe"**

When your account doubles, you might want to gamble for more. But my habit is the opposite: at each profit target, I tighten my stop-loss. When unrealized gains reach 50%, I move the stop-loss to break-even; at 100%, I take half the profits off the table.

Crypto markets are so volatile that a sudden crash can wipe out months of gains. Remember Bitcoin's 30% single-day plunge in May, with 40 billion in liquidation volume? Many people's profits were instantly wiped out, even resulting in losses. Instead of gambling on selling at the peak, it's better to lock in gains and leave the rest of the market to those with bigger guts.

**The last point—know when to rest**

Nowadays, everyone is chasing "not missing any opportunity," but those who truly make money understand: when the market is flat, cash is more valuable than holding positions. Resting is also part of a trading strategy.